Four Seasons
by YoungBoho
Summary: Sookie betrays Bill, with Eric pulling the strings and with a little help from the weather. Lemons, lemons, lemons...
1. Chapter 1

**So I'm sure some of you probably read my earlier story "A Change in the Weather," which was basically going to be a bunch of nonlinear Eric/Sookie smut shots. Well, after rereading and reconfiguring some things, I've decided that I hate that idea and have now been able to string together a plot (a weak plot, mind you) that will allow me to include lots of E/S smut based on the weather whilst telling an actual story . . . in the same fic. . . . Hoorah! **

**I **_**completely**_** scrapped "A Change in the Weather" and have just started from scratch. This story has a few of the same elements, but I promise you, it's much sexier and actually sets some stuff up for later on. For all you fans of Bill, my apologies to the awfulness of his character here, but I needed some kind of clingy, overbearing parallel to go with the whole hot/heavy weather thing, and Bill took the fall.**

**Enjoy!**

Though the sun had finally disappeared beneath the horizon after yet another scorching day in northern Louisiana, the night was offering little relief. Low-hanging clouds had trapped the heat within the darkness like a wool blanket, smothering everything on the ground below. Even the crickets were too hot to chirp.

Sookie sighed and shut off the evening news where the big story was the heat wave that had no end in sight. The temperature had soared to the high nineties for the better part of a week, and according to the weatherman, it was going to stay there indefinitely along with humidity thick enough to see. She sat back on the couch and swiped at the sheen of sweat covering her face with her equally sweaty palms, but it was hopeless. The unbearable heat combined with certain lustful dreams she'd been having since Dallas ensured that no amount of air conditioning in the world could help her.

Her hair was piled on top of her head to keep it off her neck, and she was wearing a shirt three sizes too big because anything tighter than that would be soaked through in minutes. All day long, Sookie had only moved to shift her position on the couch. She couldn't remember a day so unproductive, when the only thing she managed to accomplish was waiting for Bill to wake up and add to her discomfort with his questions and his suspicion; even though it had been Eric who had tricked her, he still acted as if she was at fault. He could never just let something go.

Sure enough, as soon as the darkness had spread across the front yard, he showed up, sweeping through the kitchen like it wasn't sweltering outside. Sookie's eyes flicked up and down over his appearance as he stood in the doorway. His skin was as white and smooth as ever, and he was wearing a collared shirt buttoned all the way to the throat and tucked into a pair of black jeans. She cringed inwardly at the thought of being constricted like that in this weather.

"Good evening, Sookie," he greeted taking a seat next to her on the couch.

She acknowledged him with a nod, then turned her face back to the fan, really not in the mood to entertain him.

"How was your day?"

"Hot."

He waited a few seconds to see whether she would elaborate. When it was obvious she wasn't going to, he said, "Yes. It has been quite muggy lately." Again, no response, so he continued, "Perhaps I might cool you off . . ."

He spoke with a suggestive smirk and picked up her red sweaty hand in his cool white one, but instead of offering relief, the contact only made her blood boil. After a few minutes, she pulled her hand away and stared blankly at the television, which now was airing a rerun of the Simpsons.

"Sookie, is everything alright?" Bill asked after she pulled away. "Have I done something to upset you?"

She paused for a few seconds, thinking of the least offensive answer she could give. "I'm just in the mood to be alone," she turned to face him.

His face darkened briefly as his eyebrows pulled together. "Why?"

"I need some space."

Bill held his silence for a few minutes, and it was all she could do to not roll her eyes at his blatant refusal even to acknowledge her request. Typical.

"What have I done?" He spoke slower than usual, choosing his words carefully.

"Nothing," Sookie sighed, then said, "I don't want to talk about it now."

"Don't want to talk about what?" he pushed. "Sookie, please tell me."

"Seriously, it's nothing. I just need space."

"So I don't get a say in this?"

"Bill, what are you talking about?" she turned to glare at him again. "It's hot, I'm exhausted and cranky, and I'm not in the mood to be around anyone right now. That's all."

"No, that is not all," there was a sharpening edge to his voice. "What aren't you telling me?"

"_Nothing_, Bill!"

"Is it Eric? Has he _tricked_ you into doing something else?" She didn't miss the slight sneer in his tone.

"Just get out," she said softly, finally reaching her breaking point.

"What? Sookie, no!" Bill got up from the couch and got on his knees in front of her, trying to pick up her hands in his own and failing when she pulled them away and crossed them against her body. "I love you."

"If you love me, then you'll leave," she replied simply, refusing to look at him. Her voice was as flat and cold as a fresh pane of glass. "Now go, or I'll actually rescind your invitation."

Bill didn't even try to hide the anger in his face. "Don't threaten me."

"Oh, get off it, Bill." She dismissed him with a wave of her hand and got up from the couch to get herself a refill of lemonade. Without a word, he followed—ever the shadow. Pulling the ice cube tray from the freezer, she dumped the last two frozen chunks into her glass and, out of habit, filled it up again in the sink before putting it back inside the manufactured air. She lingered a few extra seconds in the coldness wafting out of the appliance before shutting it and closed her eyes. When she finally turned around, Bill was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest and his mouth pulled down into a sulk.

"What are you still doing here?" she took a sip of her drink and basked in its momentary coolness.

Bill ignored her question. "Why won't you talk to me?"

"I'm not doing this any more." She brushed past him, returning to the couch. The outside of her glass was already beginning to bubble with condensation.

"Is it because of Eric?" he pressed. "Has he said something to you?"

"That's it." Sookie set her glass on a coaster, spun on her toes, and marched up to Bill, making sure to stop just out of arm's reach. "I rescind your invitation."

"_Sookie_!"

"I told you Bill," she said, following after him as he was pulled out her front door. His expression was a cross between fury and hurt. "You've been smothering me, and I need some space. Apparently, this is the only way I can get it. I'll call you when I'm ready."

The magic propelled him onto her front porch, where he stood and glared inside. "Promise me you won't see Eric."

Sookie didn't even bother to hide her eye roll this time. "You're pathetic." Then she slammed the door in his face.

A little twinge of pleasure shot through her spine at the thought of finally having a peaceful night to herself, despite the heat. She still had a fan, she had her fresh glass of lemonade, she had late-night reruns, and she had plenty of junk food waiting for her in the pantry. Best of all, no one was around to make her feel guilty for dreams and lust she had no control over.

Pleased with the new turn of events, Sookie returned to the living room. sprawled out on the couch directly in front of the fan, and watched as her t-shirt billowed and swelled around her sweaty torso, cooling her off in its own right. Her eyes were closed as she soaked in the sounds of a cheesy laugh track and corny jokes and sipped at the cold bitterness in the glass. The Simpsons had ended and had given way to some old sitcom that had been in syndication longer than the show was on the air.

It wasn't long before her mind began to drift back into thoughts of how much everything had changed since Dallas. Bill was different—colder and more distant, despite his constant lurking. Sookie knew it had everything to do with Lorena and her sudden appearance back in his life. Deep down, she knew that the bitch wasn't finished. Sookie had seen it a thousand times working at Merlotte's: a woman scorned--in public, no less--would always do whatever it took to redeem herself, which usually only caused her more shame and humiliation. She doubted that Lorena was any different. And that scared her. But every time Sookie brought her up to Bill, he refused to say anything other than "It's nothing," and would change the subject. Mostly to how angry he was that Eric would take advantage of her the way he had.

She had always played along and pretended to be just as upset, but truthfully, she was no longer as angry as she probably should have been. Stupid Vampire blood.

After a few minutes of peaceful emptiness reverberating in her head, a sputtering noise and a faltering in the fan's light wind brought her back into the heat. She opened her eyes just in time to see the rotating blades begin to slow before dying completely.

"Son of a bitch."

Sitting up, she rubbed her face before reaching for another sip of lemonade, which she immediately spat back into the glass. Though she had just refilled it, ice and all, the drink was warm, and bitter, and tasted thick. The ice had long since melted, and the resulting liquid felt like corn syrup coating her throat. _Blech_. How long had she been spaced out?

She looked around and noticed that it was much darker outside than when she had kicked Bill out and that the old sitcoms had given way to yet another late-night comedic drone, sharing his observations on American society from behind a big, fake desk.

Outside, the light sound of knocking on her back door distracted her temporarily from the raging inferno already beginning to build inside the house, and it was only seconds after the fan had died! Without pausing to consider any other possibilities, Sookie assumed Tara had stopped by after her shift, or maybe it was Jason looking to mooch some food and remembered that she had locked that door before sitting down to be lazy.

"The key's under the flower pot, just come in!" she called out from her spot on the couch. It was far too hot to be the perfect southern hostess Gran had trained her to be. She made a mental note to be extra hospitable the next time someone stopped by.

A few seconds later, she heard the key turning in the lock and the door swinging open but couldn't pick up any footsteps.

"I wonder . . ." a voice called from the kitchen. The tone and the accent of said voice caused Sookie's stomach to invert inside her, accompanied by a slight wave of nausea. _It couldn't be . . . _"Is it customary for you to invite people into your home before you know who it is?"

_Oh, hell no!_

Eric casually stepped into the doorway, wearing a black tank top and track pants and looking as suave and lean and sexy as ever. She gulped visibly as the temperature crept up another five degrees. Not good. Very, very not good.

Through her horror, she still managed to note Eric's infinitely more appropriate attire than Bill's had been with his black tank top and loose track pants. The expanse of his skin glowed against the dark clothes, and she was struck by just how out-of-place he looked next to Gran's old-fashioned country prints, old wood, and antique furniture.

"What are you doing here?"

"I had some business to discuss with Bill and wanted to see you."

"You shouldn't be here." Sookie sat back on the couch and tried to ignore the heat flushing her features. Something was nagging inside her, forecasting a bad ending to this visit.

Eric raised an eyebrow and, instead of responding, joined her on the couch. He didn't say anything, but she felt his gaze sweep over her body, and it was clear by the intensity in his eyes that he liked what he saw—over-sized t-shirt and all.

"Why, Sookie," his voice was low enough so that she had to lean forward to hear what he was saying. "You look even more delectable than usual. I didn't think that was possible."

Bill's suspicions flashed in her head like a neon sign, warning her that she was in dangerous territory of doing something she wouldn't be able to take back when the sun came up. But even with his stupid come-ons, Eric's presence wasn't half as annoying as Bill's had been, and now that the fan was broken, she needed a distraction. Possibly a lame excuse, but she was too hot and too miserable to come up with any other justification for not immediately rescinding his invitation.

"Yeah, well, keep looking 'cause that's all you're going to get."

He laughed softly, and she felt a drop of sweat slide all the way from the top of her forehead down to the very tip of her nose. She moved to wipe it away, but Eric quickly snatched her arm and reached out with his free hand to catch the salty drop on the tip of his index finger before it fell.

She didn't say anything when he slowly brought the finger to his lips and gingerly sucked her sweat off his skin, savoring the flavor of her. His eyes never left hers as blood began pounding through her veins like a jackhammer, raising her temperature another couple degrees. At this rate, the only way this could end was badly.

"You shouldn't be here," she said again, the words catching in her throat. "Bill wouldn't like it."

"Tell me, Sookie," Eric leaned forward, placing the ends of his elbows on his knees. "Do you really care what Bill thinks is appropriate?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I do." Even to her, the words sounded empty and void.

"After his freakish display tonight, I can't say that I blame you for rescinding his invitation."

The only sound was the locusts buzzing in the woods around her house as she fumbled with what he was implying. It only took a few seconds to put everything together, but when she did, the angry fire raged to life within her.

"You were_ spying _on me?" She sat bolt upright on the couch and fixed him with a stare that would have sent most people ducking for cover.

Eric simply shrugged. "I had business with Bill, but then I heard your argument and didn't want to interrupt," he smiled as he spoke. "It was not my intention to catch you alone, but I can't say that I mind . . ."

Sookie slumped back down on the couch—too uncomfortable to hold onto her anger any longer; after a few seconds, the only sign of her disapproval was in the glower she managed to give him. "Whatever."

They settled into another silence, taught with unacknowledged sexual tension. Sookie on one end of the couch, Eric facing her on the other, his eyes roaming over her form, which was still shrouded in unflattering clothing. Her skin began to tingle beneath the fire of his stare, igniting a heady warmth deep in her gut. The sensation swept up her arm to her shoulder and across her chest before it doubled in strength and finally spread over her entire body. She began breathing heavier and actually had to struggle to not say "to hell with it," and jump the Nordic masterpiece smirking at the other end of the couch.

Unable to take the silence or the tension any more, Sookie spoke. "So what did you have to talk to Bill about anyway?"

Eric lost his smirk, and a strange expression flickered across his face, but it was gone before Sookie could identify it. "Nothing you would enjoy hearing."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Precisely what I said—that you don't want to know."

"You know that only makes me want to know more."

He smiled and laughed once, softly. "I'm sure it does."

She continued to push him. "If you don't tell me now, you know I'll just have Bill tell me when I see him tomorrow."

"I would recommend distancing yourself from Compton for the next few days." Eric said quickly, his face settling into a serious expression and his voice grave.

Sookie's eyes quickly traced his form up and down, and an eyebrow raised of its own volition. "Of course you would."

Eric leaned forward so that their faces were only a few inches apart. "Sookie, I'm not joking around. Stay away from Bill for awhile."

"Why?" she pressed, already having a feeling of what lay behind Eric's ominous warning. "Does it have to do with Lorena? Is she back?"

Eric looked at her. "You shouldn't ask questions you don't want the answers to."

"Well you can't just show up at my house after not speaking to me for weeks and tell me to stay away from my boyfriend without some kind of explanation."

His left hand reached forward and gently held her chin between his thumb and index finger, sending a jolt all the way down to her tailbone, while his eyes held her gaze steady.

"Just trust me."

She got lost within his stare for a moment, disappearing inside the cool sea-green waves splashing inside his irises. He didn't blink as she toyed with her response.

"Fine," she said after a few more seconds had gone by. "But only because it's so hot, and I'm too tired to argue any more."

She watched as the expression in his eyes went from serious to playful, with more than a tinge of lust, almost instantly.

"Why, Sookie," he purred. "You should have just said so."

Eric vanished from the room before returning a moment later to stand directly behind her on the couch. She shrieked when he pressed an ice cube to the back of her neck and tried to leap away from the frigid pressure on her skin, but his arm had wrapped around to hold her in place with a firm hand against her chest.

"_What do you think you're doing?_" Sookie shrieked and fought his hold, squirming uselessly against what felt like an iron bar strapped across her chest.

"Cooling you off." His grin was evident in his tone.

"You shouldn't . . ." she trailed off as the ice melted against her sweltering flesh and ran down her back, beneath her shirt, in icy little rivulets. Each muscle the ice came in contact with seemed to melt away beneath its coldness. It took less than a minute for the ice cube to dissolve completely into her skin and for Eric to gently slip his hand beneath the collar of her shirt to spread its juices to the farthest tips of her shoulders.

He leaned down so that his head was right next to her ear. "I shouldn't what, Sookie?"

She gulped. "You shouldn't try to cool me off that way," her voice, along with her will power, was nothing more than a weak whisper of the right thing to do.

"Then how would you like me to cool you off?"

"I—"

"Like this?" he interrupted, placing his lips just behind her right earlobe and sucked gently. She tasted sweet, like honeysuckle. He licked his lips

"Like this?" he said again and moved to her neck, sucking her stampeding jugular vein but not breaking the skin.

Sookie, all the while, sat frozen in place, unable to move and unwilling to ask him to stop. She whimpered softly as his cool tongue caressed her neck. Without realizing it, her hand had come up and unwittingly wound itself in his yellow hair, holding him to her neck as she leaned back to give him better access.

Slowly he moved his tongue around to her throat and dipped it in the hollow skin between her two collarbones. Sookie's mouth fell open while her breathing grew shallower.

Eric saw what he was doing to her and smiled inwardly, knowing that he had finally won.

Sookie's mind was racing. She should be telling him to stop. She should be pushing him away. She should least be putting up a fight for Bill's sake.

Instead, she moaned and pulled his mouth down to hers.

Immediately, his body was flush against her as they laid together on the couch. Without missing a beat, his deft fingers gently pulled the elastic band out of her hair and slowly began to sift through the curly tangles while gently cradling her face.

Having Eric pressed against her this way was like being encompassed by a living ice sculpture. He was so massive and so deliciously cold and managed to conform to every last one of her curves. Even through his clothes she could feel the chill of his skin, begging for her to touch it, so she slid her hands beneath his tank top and raked her nails down the chiseled features of his chest, all while his lips warred with hers for dominance. His skin felt delightful under her palms, and his tongue was delectable inside her mouth. When her hands began to explore his body, he growled and wrapped his arms beneath her, pulling her tighter against him.

And then he pulled away, his eyes glowing as they peered down at her, ignoring her automatic whimper of protest.

"Do you yield?" he asked, already sensing her response through the weak flutters in the bond.

"Just shut up and kiss me, Eric."

He immediately complied, while his right hand began to venture beneath her t-shirt and palm her left breast, enchanted by her frantic heartbeat. She moaned and arched into him, her arms coming up to wrap around his neck.

His mouth was heaven on hers—so much cooler and more refreshing than that forgotten glass of lemonade could have ever hoped to be. Each movement from his lips or lick from his tongue sent a new series of shivers racing through her body. She wriggled beneath him as all the little hairs on her arms stood at attention. He growled once again and pulled away to rip the shirt over her head before slamming his mouth back onto hers.

Now that one layer of clothing was out of the way, all she wanted was to feel the entirety of his icy form against her, free of anything that could get in the way. Her fingers clawed at his tank top almost as if she wanted to pull it apart. He made no move to help her and instead concentrated on staking his claim along her jaw line and down to her shoulder. Eventually she got the shirt bunched up to his shoulders before he finally relented and maneuvered so that it slid down his arm to the floor.

When he brought himself back to her again, he continued placing wet, open-mouthed kisses along strategic places on her neck and chest. Each place his mouth touched burned with an icy fire—so much so that she found herself wishing for a blanket. She cried out and fisted his hair when he latched onto her nipple and eradicated all semblance of rational thought. Slowly, his fangs descended, grazing her skin as they did so while he bit down gently on the sensitive, puckered mound.

"Oh God, Eric, more! I need more," Sookie's voice was deep and guttural, sounding more animal than human.

"Patience," Eric said quickly, his own voice taught with restraint. "I've waited too long for this, and I _will_ enjoy you."

Sookie moaned her annoyance, arched her hips into his already swollen length, and gasped as a bolt of heat slammed into her body—a stark contrast to the cold ministrations of Eric's mouth.

His cock throbbed once from the brief pressure, and his head involuntarily collapsed against her shoulder. A groan whispered in her ear as he copied her movement, grinding against her and allowing the friction to heat her center while he cooled everywhere else.

Almost delirious from the pleasure, Sookie's hand left his shoulder and traveled lightly down his chest and stomach to beneath the waistband of his pants to grasp him. He was heavy and solid and thick in her hand. But mostly, he felt cool. Gloriously cool. When she began to stroke, a warmth appeared that quickly started to grow, and she found she was hungrier for that heat than she was for his coldness. Her hand picked up its pace.

Eric moaned loudly and palmed her breast as he enjoyed the sensations ripping through his body, dragging his fangs across the supple skin of her shoulder. After a few seconds of bliss, he reluctantly removed her hand and brought it back to his shoulder, determined to make this experience last as long as possible. "Not yet."

Before Sookie could protest, there was a sudden, swift tug at her hips, and she found her shorts and underwear pulled to the very tips of her toes with Eric grinning triumphantly over her. Unphased, she kicked the last of her clothes off her foot and let them fall to the ground with the others. Finally free, her legs came around his waist while he leaned down, his lips inches from hers and his eyes ablaze with their mutual lust. She was pinned against the couch cushions by his massive form, completely helpless and utterly at his mercy. She was absolute putty in his hands, and God, did it feel good.

Without thinking, she tilted her head and brought her lips back to his, nipping softly as she did so. Instantly, his mouth opened to hers, and his tongue swept into her warmth. Sookie couldn't hold back a moan as her body began shivering against him. Cold and hot were at war, and her body was the battleground.

"Please, Eric," she pleaded. "I can't wait anymore."

Elated to hear her beg, he finally relinquished the last of his clothing with a blur of movement before rearranging himself on top of her. Her legs opened for him automatically, and he had to fight to hold onto every last shred of self-control to not plow into her then and there.

He was positioned at her entrance and could feel her delicious sweetness dripping down his length. Heat was radiating from her in waves, inviting him in. Lost to his lust, he slowly pushed forward and watched as Sookie's eyes rolled back into her head. Her fingernails dug into the hard muscles of his arms as he slowly and relentlessly entered her, filling her to the brim and then some. The heat grew exponentially the deeper he pressed, and he trembled slightly from the effort to keep himself from pounding her deep and fast and hard.

Each inch he crept into her seemed to unlock an entirely new wave of sensations. Sookie was out of her mind with pleasure the moment she felt his cock against her skin the first time, but now she was a babbling mess. Her body was scorching, and—though warmer—he was still so much cooler than her. The contrast in temperature was practically causing steam to rise off her body. She could almost hear the hiss as his coolness reached new depths to soothe her sweltering lust.

"Oh, Eric," she half-moaned, half-screamed when he finally bottomed out. She ground her hips against him, desperate for some kind of friction because Eric had stopped moving. In every dream she'd had of him, he had fucked her senseless, slamming into her with unimaginable force and with perfect precision. That was what she wanted—what she needed right now. But here he was, actually inside her, and he was frozen. "_Please_," she whispered. "Move."

Almost imperceptibly, he pulled out, drawing another deep moan from Sookie. When Eric had withdrawn so that only the head of his cock was left inside her, he pressed back—inch by inch, just as before. Impossibly slow so that all she felt was a growing and ebbing pressure deep in her loins, stretching her past her limits and beyond—that was how he claimed her.

Sookie was out of control with need below him and tried to slam her hips up to meet his, craving the sensations of his slick movements against her tight walls, but he easily held her still with one hand spread across her belly. She became like an animal, growling her frustration as her vision clouded over. But he would not give into her pleading.

Slowly, her body began to climb; she could feel it rising to new heights and something inside her whispered that when the final crash came, it was going to obliterate everything. The longer Eric's sexual torture went on, the hotter Sookie's center became, to the point where it was almost unbearable to have him so deep inside her when he was still so much cooler.

"_Eric_ . . ."

He said nothing, but continued his methodic, slow rhythm until her teeth began to chatter.

She was so hot and so cold all at once—her body pushed to two different extremes simultaneously—that when she finally came, it was like a bomb went off within her. Someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over head and ignited a blow torch between her legs. The heat raced through her body, shooting out of her fingers and toes, while stars speckled in front of her eyes, making it seem as if it were snowing in Gran's living room. Her fingernails dug deep enough into Eric's skin to draw blood as she screamed out his name. All the while, he continued his deliberate glide in and out of her heat.

When it was all over, Sookie lay limp on the couch, trying to catch her breath. Chills were racing through her body every time Eric moved, and goosebumps had spread across her flesh.

"Feel better?" Eric asked after a few minutes when Sookie finally had returned to her senses.

She nodded once then immediately found herself lifted off the couch and placed on his lap, her back pressed against his chest.

"Good," he whispered, his lips rubbing against her ear lobe.

He then pressed his now throbbing manhood back into her warmth and wrapped his arms around her middle while he proceeded to piston in and out of her like a machine. Her legs were on either side of his knees as she leaned back into him and allowed all the heat he had just washed away to sweep back into her again, like waves on a beach.

The rational thoughts she had managed to collect were eviscerated the moment Eric began pounding into her from this entirely new angle. Each time he thrust inside, he rubbed against a tight cluster of nerves buried deep inside her, quickly pushing her toward another mind-blowing climax.

"Don't stop," she said, her voice husky. "Please don't stop."

Instead of stopping, Eric doubled his speed, and Sookie lost all muscle coordination. She was a limp rag doll buried beneath a tidal wave of sensation, and Eric had to hold up her body so he could continue. It was only a few seconds later before a second orgasm hit her like a truck, causing her to black out for a moment. Eric followed quickly behind and buried his fangs into her neck; her blood was steaming and sweet in his mouth, and he felt it all the way to his toes.

They collapsed on the couch together, their bodies entwined as he continued to lap at the blood still dripping down her neck before sealing the wound. They were both still so delirious from the climax that it almost seemed like their bodies were melting together, becoming one.

When she finally stopped panting and had come back into some kind of rationality--enough to wrap her mind about what she had just done--she couldn't help but giggle a little bit. The giggle quickly grew into outright hysterical laughter when she thought of how right Bill had been that she should stay away from Eric. The situation was anything but funny, yet she laughed anyway. Guilt over her betrayal would come eventually, but right now, it was more than a little amusing.

"What's so funny?" Eric asked, the corners of his mouth pulling upward slightly as his fingers stroked the skin around her naval.

"I guess Bill had a point when he said he wanted me to stay away from you," she said between the last few lingering snorts of laughter.

Eric paused, his expression completely unreadable, then asked, "Do you regret it?"

Sookie's eyes met his, and she didn't hesitate. "Not yet."

**Up next, we have thunderstorms. . . .**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the reviews! They make me obnoxiously giddy! :)**

For seven days, whenever the sun set, a cold stone of dread dropped deep in Sookie's gut as she peered to the front door, waiting for the inevitable knock. Each night Bill didn't show up, that stone got heavier and it hit harder. She hadn't forgotten her promise to Eric that she would stay away from him for a few days, but it was still weird that he hadn't even called. Sure, she'd kicked him out, but this was Bill. He always at least called.

Sookie sighed and fanned herself with the business section. The weather had been living up to all the meteorologists' predictions and somehow managed to get even hotter in the last few days. They were on the cusp of fall and right in the midst of Indian Summer, so it was impossible to go outside without panting and without instantly being coated in salty, sticky sweat. She sat on her porch feeling little trickles slide down the back of her arms and neck and distracted herself with thoughts of Eric draped all over her. As much as she hated to admit it, those memories had been the only thing getting her through this week from hell. A little more guilt seeped in every time they surfaced, but overall, it was still a relatively pleasant recollection. That would probably all change when she finally saw Bill.

She was going to tell him everything. She _had _to. There was never any question in her mind. Idly, her fingers tapped the wooden armrest of her old rocking chair as she wondered whether he already knew. Maybe that was why she'd seen neither hide nor hair of him all week.

But after seven nights of waiting, she'd decided that tonight was it. He had until an hour after sunset to show up. After that, she would go see him. Either way, this weight was coming off her chest tonight. It had been long enough.

The minutes ticked by slowly as a breeze started to pick up, siphoning the heat from the area like a drain in a bathtub. Though she couldn't see them in the growing darkness, she could hear the leaves rubbing against each other in the trees as the wind gathered strength. It grew steadily from an occasional gust to a steady wind strong enough to rock the empty chair next to her almost like she had a silent, invisible companion. She closed her eyes and leaned back to enjoy the break in the heat.

The wind had continued to increase right until she decided that Bill's deadline had passed and ran inside to collect a sweater—it already felt a little cooler—and made her way over to Bill's. Her feet had memorized the trip long ago and easily picked their way through the cemetery, taking care to avoid all the old, overgrown headstones.

Almost the instant Sookie stepped onto Bill's property, her heart began pounding like a jackrabbit. Maybe this wasn't the best idea; she'd barely thought it through. Maybe Eric's scent had washed off and she and Bill could go on as if nothing happened. Maybe telling him would only cause more problems than it would solve; really, wouldn't she be hurting him only so she could feel better? Bearing the guilt surely would be a greater punishment than anything Bill said to her.

"Oh, get off it, Sookie," she said under her breath. "You can't walk away from this."

Resolved, she climbed the stairs to Bill's porch and was about to knock when she saw his mailbox overflowing with what appeared to be a week's worth of mail.

"Weird."

After gathering the pile of bills and magazines and tucking it beneath her arm, she opened the storm door and knocked. A full thirty seconds went by and she had yet to hear movement within the house. She knocked again. The wind had strengthened even more and now was whipping her hair into her face like angry string.

When there was no response after she had knocked a second time, Sookie decided to just go inside. Reaching above the doorframe for Bill's spare key, her fingers tapped around the old wood for a while before coming up empty. Frustrated, she tried the doorknob anyway and was surprised to feel it twist easily in her hand. The door swung open with an eerie groan that was lost beneath the shuffling of the wind. She stepped inside cautiously, set the mail on the small table in the foyer, and looked around for a sign of her boyfriend.

"Bill?" she called and walked into the living room.

The sun had set a little more than an hour ago and it was unlikely that he'd had time to shower and dress before going anywhere. If he was awake, he was here somewhere. She sat on the old couch in his living room and waited.

After a few minutes, she started to pace.

A few more minutes, and she decided to go upstairs to look for him.

"Bill?"

His room was untouched, so she went over to his closet where his hideyhole was tucked away and got down on her knees. Figuring that it wouldn't do any harm since it had been dark for awhile, she opened it and peered inside. Empty.

Outside, the wind howled and the house moaned beneath its weight.

Where was he?

For the first time that night, a little glimmer of fear pricked her mind. Taking out her phone, she quickly dialed Bill's number while wracking her mind for possible explanations. Maybe he slept somewhere else . . . with someone else?

The phone didn't even have a chance to ring before the overly perky operator informed her that the number had been disconnected. Cold threads of panic tightened across her gut.

Could she have dialed wrong? She tried again, punctuating each number with a distinct pressure. Almost immediately, "We're sorry, but the number you're trying to reach has been disconnected."

"Well . . . fudge."

She sat back and tried to think about where Bill could be. Was he so upset about her throwing him out that he would just leave without telling her? Maybe he knew about what happened with her and Eric and had decided that he'd had enough. Thoughts of last week began to regurgitate themselves, and Eric's ominous warning to stay away from Bill almost imperceptibly came forth from the tangles, forcing all the pieces into place. She almost felt foolish for not thinking of it sooner.

This time when she dialed, it was a less familiar series of numbers.

"Fangtasia, bar with a bite," Pam answered on the third ring. Her drawl was deliberately more pronounced and sexy than usual. No doubt to enthrall the fangbangers.

She didn't bother with the normal pleasantries and got right to the point. "It's Sookie. I need to talk to Eric."

"He's busy."

"I don't have time for this bullshit, Pam. Just put him on the phone."

"My, aren't we feisty tonight," she said, sounding surprisingly interested. "I'll see if he's available."

Sookie rolled her eyes when Pam's voice was replaced by gothic elevator music no one but fangbangers and undertakers would find appealing. She endured the grating tones for several minutes before Eric finally picked up.

"Mm, Sookie, what can I do for you?"

A tingle swept up her spine when he said her name, but she ignored it. "What did you do with Bill?"

"I have done nothing with your Compton," he replied. "Why? Did you lose him?" Dozens of miles away from him, and there was no question that he was wearing that annoying smirk on his face. She wanted to slap it off.

"You know perfectly well he's missing. You've known for weeks, haven't you?"

"I might have had an . . . inkling."

"You better not have had anything to do with this, Eric, because if you did—"

"We're not going to have this conversation on the phone," he interrupted. "Come to Fangtasia, and I'll answer all your questions."

"Why can't you just—"

"I said not on the phone. I'll tell Pam to expect you." He hung up without saying goodbye.

Sookie sighed and folded the phone shut, running her fingers through her hair. After all that had happened, could she handle seeing Eric? It had been almost a week, and her thighs still clenched with aftershocks every time she thought about what took place between them. It would be all too easy for her to fall for his seduction again, especially now that she'd felt what he could do to her. But, she had no choice.

If she wanted to find out what happened to Bill, then she was going to have to suck it up and see Eric. She was a full-grown woman and more than capable of controlling herself. She'd just make sure to keep her distance from him.

Her decision made, Sookie picked herself off the floor, brushed her legs off, and made her way back across the cemetery.

While she was in Bill's house, it had started to rain—massive, freezing drops that splashed on the dusty ground before immediately being absorbed into the earth. It looked like the heat wave had finally broke and northern Louisiana was in for a doosey of a storm. Overhead, a distant drum of thunder rumbled its agreement.

Sookie jogged most of the way back to her house to keep from getting too soaked; she wanted to show up at Fangtasia with at least some dignity still intact, and looking like a drowned cat effectively would destroy any credibility she had.

Luckily, she only had to brush out her hair and change into a slightly nicer sweater and jeans, throw on some lip gloss, and hope that it didn't look like she was trying too hard. After all, she was only going there for Bill. Didn't want to give anyone the wrong idea.

Ready to go, Sookie grabbed her purse and keys and was on the road to Shreveport in less than fifteen minutes.

The usually zippy drive was obnoxiously slow. You'd think no one on the highway that night had ever had to drive through a little rain before. Not one car dared to go faster than ten miles below the normal speed limit. Sookie drummed her fingers along the steering wheel and fought the urge to lay on her horn until traffic moved at a more acceptable pace as she watched the drops bounce off the hood of her car. Most of her concentration was directed at staying focused on Bill as opposed to wondering what Eric would be wearing. It was proving more and more difficult to do so with each tick of the clock.

Almost an hour later, she pulled into the Fangtasia parking lot and had to park toward the back. She ran inside as quickly as she could while holding her purse overhead as if it could keep her dry. The bottoms of her jeans were instantly soaked to halfway up her calf and her hair had become matted and frizzy from the moisture. Perfect.

The moment she burst into the entrance, a dagger of light streaked across the sky, followed a few seconds later by angry thunder. Sookie noted the little bit of time between the two. If that old wives tale were true about counting the seconds between the thunder and the lightening, then the storm was still a few miles off.

"Sookie," Pam greeted when she made her way over to the hostess stand. "Don't you look . . . wet."

Ignoring her, she said. "Where is he?"

"In his office. You can go back. He's been waiting for you."

Sookie nodded, tried to shove aside her giddiness at seeing Eric again, and made her way toward the back of the bar. The fangbangers were out in droves tonight, and they were more than a little tickled by the foul weather. Each time a bolt of lightning lit the bar up, they cheered--pathetic. Distracted by the atmosphere—both inside and outside the bar—no one paid her any attention as she squeezed through the crowd toward Eric's office.

Less than a minute later, she found herself standing outside his door, wondering whether she should knock. She was just about to raise her fist when Eric called to her from behind the door, telling her to come in.

Bracing herself, she swung the door open and went inside, hoping that she wasn't making a huge mistake coming here. The minute their eyes met, her heart sank. Usually his gaze was impossible to decipher, but now, she could make out every emotion. Almost like she could read his mind. Confidence, dominance, amusement, and lust—a whole heap of lust; there was no way she was going to leave that room tonight without getting herself in even deeper with the stupid Viking. Damn it.

He was sitting at his desk and smiled broadly when she stepped inside. "Ah, Sookie, you look simply divine tonight." Apparently he enjoyed the wet, grungy, gross look. "I trust you are doing well since I last saw you?"

"Cut the crap, Eric. I'm here for Bill. That's it."

"I see." He brought his folded his hands together and pressed them against his mouth as he watched her with those telling eyes.

"So what do you know?" Sookie asked when it was clear he wasn't going to offer up any information.

Eric stood from his chair behind the desk and came around to the front, where he crossed his arms and perched on the corner. Sookie tried not to notice how his arms bulged beneath the taught sleeves of his dark blue t-shirt.

"You may want to have a seat." He gestured to the leather couch.

Sookie glanced in that direction then quickly shook her head. "That's okay," she said. "I don't plan on staying long."

Eric's brow furrowed as he peered at her from across the room. She was still hovering near the door, too hesitant to come any closer.

"Bill has been taken," he said after a few awkward minutes.

Sookie's mind instantly went blank. Of all the scenarios that had passed through her head, none of them included that.

"_What_? By who?" she asked once the information had sunk in a little.

"You know who it was."

A flash of lightning lit up the room, surrounding Eric with an eerie, delicate light for less than a moment. His face was grim.

"Lorena."

Eric nodded once as a deafening clash of thunder rattled down to her bones. The storm was closer now. Suddenly she was freezing. Her mind was frantic as millions of questions came at her at once: how could Lorena simply take Bill like that? Why wasn't Eric more concerned? How was she going to fix this?

"Well, what are you doing to get him back?"

"There is little I can do," Eric shrugged. "I warned him of her intentions a few weeks ago after I discovered them. Then again last week when she checked into my area. That alone was overstepping my authority."

"We have to do something!" she cried. "Can't we go after them?"

"Lorena hates you, Sookie." Lightning illuminated the room once again, filling it with untapped electrical power. "Bill is trying to protect you by taking her out of town and far away from you."

At that moment, a monstrous wave of thunder hit the building and Sookie's knees gave out. Before she could hit the ground, Eric had crossed the room and scooped her up like a china doll. Almost the instant his arms came around her, she felt better as a little of the stress drained from her body. But that ended the second he placed her gently on the couch.

"You're overwhelmed," he said, returning to his spot on the desk. It wasn't a question.

Sookie sat up and firmly planted her face into her palms. "I don't understand . . . how?"

"He didn't want you to know." Eric buried his hands into his pockets. "He knew you would come after him if you discovered the truth."

"Was that the real reason he didn't want me to see you? Because he didn't want you to tell me?"

Another flash of lighting filled the room long enough for Sookie to catch a glimpse of the smirk on Eric's face, which was all it took to ignite the fire of her anger. There was absolutely nothing amusing about this situation.

"Among other things," he replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she pressed, gearing for a fight. The roll of thunder punctuated her accusation and she couldn't help but appreciate the dramatic flair it added.

Eric looked down at her with mock innocence and placed his right hand over his unbeating heart. "I simply told him that he didn't have to worry about you. While he was gone, I would be sure to . . . _take care of you_."

Another streak of lightning, and she was on her feet, beating Eric's chest with balled fists. Of course, he'd known everything when he came to her house last week, and of course he used it to his advantage so he could finally take his conquest. The knowledge stung her like a skewer through the heart as she continued her assault. He simply smirked and didn't move.

"How could you take advantage of me like that? _I hate you_!" She slapped him across the face.

He said nothing to indicate that her words had any effect and simply endured her beating as if it were nothing but a pleasant massage.

Outside, the storm was raging. Rain whipped the windows like bullets while the wind swirled all the pooling moisture in the parking lot into mini waterspouts. Lightning lit up the sky almost constantly and was accompanied by the ever-present roar of thunder. It had barely gotten underway, and it was already the most powerful storm Shreveport had seen in years.

Inside, Sookie relentlessly pounded against the vastness of Eric's chest, determined to make him feel only a fraction of the pain and guilt that had already begun to tear her apart.

How could she betray Bill like that? Here he was, giving up his freedom to keep her safe, and she had simply thrown him out of her home then proceeded to play right into the hands of the one person in the world she knew he truly hated. She loathed herself.

"Are you finished?" Eric asked when her punches had reduced themselves to the occasional light smack between sobs. His hands came to rest on her shoulders, but she shrugged him off.

Without a word, she picked up her purse and walked to the door. "I don't ever want to see you again."

No sooner had the words left her mouth did another ridiculous bolt of lightning strike somewhere nearby, which was immediately followed by a tremendous roar of thunder. Sookie cringed beneath the blanket of sound, and the dim lights in Eric's office flickered once before going completely dead, leaving them both in total darkness.

Sookie froze, her hand clutching the doorknob, and turned to look over her shoulder. The only thing she could make out in the blackness was Eric's eyes—glowing and focused directly on her. Slowly, they began to move toward her.

Adrenaline dumped into her system as she scrambled to escape before he could reach her. Even in the darkness, she could see all too well exactly what it was he wanted. He was hunting—stalking her like the predator he was. She didn't dare look back as she struggled with the door, lest he be right behind her.

Her nerves were so taught with anxiety that the next flash of lightning tore a scream out of her. She could feel his closeness; he couldn't have been more than a few eyelashes away. Instinctively, she whirled away from the door, expecting to find Eric's face inches from her own, but instead saw nothing.

Another flash of lightning lit the room up again, and it was clear that she was definitely, and unexpectedly, alone. A chill ran through her.

"Eric?" she called, her voice shaking.

When there was no response, she decided to chance it and get out while she could. She spun on her heel back toward the door, her hands shaking too much to cooperate. Almost instantly, a pair of strong, icy arms wrapped around her middle, tearing her away from the only exit.

All she could see was darkness as he hauled her back into the room, completely ignoring her many protests to let her go. Her feet lashed out against his hold and swung like pendulums, managing to knock most of the contents lying on top of his desk to the floor. He said nothing about the mess, but all too quickly, she found her feet back on the ground and her upper body bent over the end of the desk she had just cleared. Eric pressed his own torso over her and effortlessly pinned her arms to her sides. She was trapped.

"You can't leave yet. We still have much to . . . discuss." His voice was sinfully sensual.

"Eric, please—" her words were cut off with a moan when he pulled her back against his already straining pants. "We can't . . ." she gasped.

"Why not?" he leaned further across her back and slid his hands beneath her damp sweater, lightly stroking her sides.

"I won't do that to Bill again." She was panting now.

"He's not coming back, Sookie." He brushed her hair over to one side of her neck and pressed his lips to her neck before whispering in her ear. "If he does, it will only be because Lorena has decided to kill you after all." She shuddered. "I'm the only protection you have."

Throughout the encounter, lightning lit the room up periodically like flashbulbs of multiple cameras going off at once—like they were the center of some serious paparazzi scrutiny. Electricity crackled in the air as her resolve continued to wane.

His fingernails gently scraped the soft skin of her back, leaving red trails of encouragement in their wake. Every nerve in her body was tingling with anticipation and with the feel of him so close to her. Above her, Eric smiled and inhaled the luscious scent of her arousal. She wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. Not with the amount of lust he could feel emanating through her pores.

The storm had risen to a new frenzy, beating against the building like an army demanding sanctuary. They were engulfed by an angry ocean of wind that was slamming down on the ceiling hard enough to shake the windows violently in their frames. A few more minutes and the glass would have no choice but to bend to the unrelenting wind.

Inside Eric's office, he had managed to weaken her tenacity to one last, very strained, string of determination. He toyed with her body, expertly extracting all the sensations she was so desperate not to feel. The weight of his upper body pressed down on her, encompassing her much smaller form on top of the desk as she frantically tried to hold onto her guilt and pain—the only things keeping her from giving in completely.

Sookie closed her eyes and gathered every last ounce of stubbornness she had left; it was enough to squirm out from beneath Eric's massive form. A small part of her frazzled brain called out that he was only playing with her. Physically, she could never defeat a vampire. Especially Eric. They both knew it. But there was nothing else she could do; this was the only way she could fight. So she ignored the voice and continued to fight for control.

The small office seemed to diminish even further in size as Sookie struggled against a magnetic pull toward Eric. Setting her sweater to rights and readjusting her hair, she said, "I'm leaving now, Eric. I meant what I said about not wanting to see you again."

He said nothing, and for the second time, Sookie retrieved her purse, which luckily was lying at her feet and, as calmly as possible, walked to the door.

Driving her little car all the way back to Bon Temps in the ugly weather may not have been the smartest idea, but she had to get out of there. She was at the very end of her self-control. One more caress was all it would take to send her will power crumbling to the ground.

Another flash of lightning lasted long enough for her to make out Eric still standing next to his desk, still watching her. When it was dark again a second later, his eyes continued to glow their peculiar blue light, but they weren't advancing toward her.

Because there was nothing left to say and because she couldn't be in that room with him one more second without doing something she would regret forever, she turned away and opened the door to leave, but before she could step one foot into the hallway, the door was slammed shut, and Eric was suddenly right behind her. The little space left between their bodies tingled. He quickly spun her around and pinned her to the door, his grip on her shoulders tight enough to leave bruises.

She didn't even have a chance to protest before he slammed his mouth onto hers, completely eviscerating every doubt and excuse flashing in her brain and telling her that being with him wasn't a good idea. Instantly, her body wrapped around his as the last of her control was washed away by his perfect lips.

In the main room, the windows lining the front of the bar finally gave into the pressure and shattered inward, actually cutting a few people. Those fangbangers lucky enough to bleed were all too happy to allow themselves to be cleaned up by some of the vampires in attendance. The excitement over the storm that had filled the room earlier slowly morphed into something darker and more dangerous as the vampires started to drink their fill. A feeding orgy had begun.

At the end of the back hallway, inside Eric's office, he had returned Sookie to her earlier position bent over his desk and deftly undid the button of her jeans, pulling them down, along with her underwear, just enough to expose her naked flesh. His eyes glowed brighter as they took in the expanse of her perfect skin bathed in the electric flashes of illumination. He had been craving this constantly for the past seven days.

Sookie moaned when two long fingers slid into her and weakly tried to shimmy the rest of the way out of her jeans. He made no move to help and focused instead on exploring her warmth, his thumb twisting to stroke the tight bud of nerves above her entrance. She cried out and bucked against his hand at the new contact while her jeans slowly worked their way down her legs. Eventually, she was able to step on the ends and pull them completely off. All with Eric still bent over her, preparing her.

The moment her legs were free, Eric released his throbbing length from his pants and buried it deep within her. Sookie yelped at the unexpected intrusion, but it quickly became a moan as he started gliding in and out of her, setting a hard, fast rhythm.

Overhead, the storm unleashed its true fury, slamming against the bar with everything it had. The room was bathed in almost constant flashes of light, while the thunder crashed loud enough to shake the walls, but it was the incredible wind that had encompassed everything, channeling the forces of the storm to blast away anything that wasn't secure as if it were nothing but dust.

Eric was still fully clothed as he repeatedly impaled her with his cock. Each time he pressed inward, completely immersing himself in her glorious heat, she let out a loud cry that disappeared beneath the sounds of the raging weather. She was utterly lost to the energy coursing through body as Eric continued to pound into her. When he felt her temperature rise around him, he groaned and picked up the pace of his thrusts, pushing her toward climax.

At the first sign of her impending orgasm, Sookie's fingers dug into the wood on top of the desk as the wave began to take her. It shot up from her center all the way to the top of her head and down her arms and legs. Her entire body clenched and released as if she were being electrocuted while pleasure coursed through her veins like fire. She howled and thrashed around his cock, completely losing control of her body. For his part, Eric struggled to maintain his pace while she was so wild, but he grit his teeth and managed to drag her climax out for as long as possible, enjoying the sight of her writhing beneath him.

When it was over, her body lay limp on the desk, still miles and miles away. Far from fininished, Eric flipped her over and positioned her legs so that her heels were resting on the ends of the desk and so her knees fell open to him. He quickly ripped off both their shirts and pulled her to him, loving the feel of her soft, warm breasts rubbing against his naked chest while he continued to slam into her.

"Eric," she moaned as her body began to recharge. An entirely new series of sensations was starting to take over.

He said nothing but captured her mouth in his own, pouring the extent of his insurmountable lust into the kiss. All Sookie could do was hold on.

Eric could feel that he was getting close to the edge and broke the kiss, allowing his fangs to scrape gently down the side of her face. Instinctively, she turned her head to give him access to her throat, her eyes never leaving his. His hand abandoned the swell of her hip to grip her tiny neck gently, feeling her pulse slam into his palm. Studying her gaze, he felt her desire to be bitten and couldn't hold back any longer.

Not a second later, he removed his hand and sank his fangs into the creamy, soft skin of her neck while she arched into him and threw her arms around his own. His body instantly flooded with her warmth and life, and it only took a few swallows to fill him completely. But he continued to drink, still unsatisfied, and only broke away to tear into his own wrist and hold it to her mouth,

"Drink," he said before returning to her scarlet nectar.

She didn't even think before latching on and taking his blood into her. He tasted cool and sweet and delicious.

The instant Sookie's soft, succulent lips sealed over the wound on his wrist, he fell over the edge. A bright flash of light blinded his vision and he slammed into her ruthlessly. Sookie never let go of his wrist as her body easily absorbed his heavy pounding.

Just as Eric started to shoot into her, Fangtasia was struck by a powerful bolt of lighting, and they could distantly pick up the sounds of a wall crumbling away somewhere and the storm rushing inside. Neither moved. They had fallen into a cone of silence where everything outside the small space they shared fell away. Together, they collapsed on the desk.

Unconcerned by the damage to his bar, Eric turned his head and gently pressed his lips to Sookie's, making sure to clean the blood coating her mouth and all around her chin. She lazily returned the kiss, all guilt temporarily held at bay. The minute she left the room, she would hate herself for being so weak. But right now, it was just them, and it felt okay.

Outside, lightning struck repeatedly, and each time, the thunder took a little longer to arrive as the storm moved away. The wind slowly died down and the rain started to cease. The storm had lasted only a few minutes, but it was enough to cause serious damage to the area and to its residents. Inside the club, the fangbangers saw that it was over and began dragging themselves home, considerably paler than when they had arrived while Eric and Sookie lay entwined together in his office, thinking of nothing else.

Once the storm had moved on, the power groaned and the lights flickered several times before growing steady as if they were waiting for their cue. The instant the yellow light filled Eric's office, realization crashed down on them like a boulder. Sookie quickly ripped herself out of Eric's arms, hating how it hurt her to do so, and pulled on her clothes. Neither spoke as she dressed and tore out of the room, out of the club, and into her car where she burst into tears.

**Next up: Frost/snow.**


	3. Chapter 3

After the microburst (because that was what the meteorologists were officially calling the mutant storm) had passed through, leaving the destruction of a small tornado in its wake, it brought with it the cold chill of impending winter. Soon the residents of Bon Temps were longing for those days of sweltering humidity and soaring temperatures. The frost was early this year—mid-October early. Unheard of in Louisiana. Sookie actually had to scrape a layer of ice off her windshield before going in for her shift at five.

Some local farmers were complaining about how the cold had destroyed their last crop of the season as Sookie cleared their empty glasses and replaced them with fresh ones along with a new pitcher of beer. Neither of the men spoke to her, but that was probably for the best.

That pleasant façade she'd always worn for patrons in the past had dissipated with the heat, and she kept having to bite her tongue to keep from spitting all the disgusting thoughts broadcast in her direction back in the faces of whomever they came from. Her tips were actually starting to suffer. Fucking Eric.

He'd wormed his way deep into her life, despite her constant protests. And there was no way she could see to get him back out where he belonged. No matter what she tried, Eric was always one step ahead.

After the lightning strike, the bar had to be repaired, which left Eric with lots of free time to visit Sookie. Every time he came to see her, the end result was always the same. And every morning after, she hated herself a little more—especially now that she was actually coming to enjoy his visits. And that pissed her off.

To fight the growing contentment she was finding with Eric, she often would think of Bill, wonder where he was, what he was doing, whether he was happy. Did he resent her? Was Lorena good to him? He probably wasn't mainstreaming anymore, not with her back in his life. More than once, she'd imagined Bill feeding on some clueless human and laughing at their pathetic struggle as their blood drained into his mouth.

Everything had happened so fast. One day Bill was there and things were sort of okay, the next . . . Eric. With all the great sex she'd been having, she should have been wistful and carefree. But that sex came with a price, and it was getting harder for her to pay.

Silently, she wrote down the order for an older couple, who were at that point in their relationship where they didn't need conversation to enjoy each other's company. They were more than content to sit and stare in silence all night. Jealousy flared up when she fell into their heads and saw just how long they'd been happy together, but she managed to shove it back wherever it came from without too much struggle and brought their order to the kitchen.

Sam had a fire going in the seldom-used fireplace against the far wall. The bright orange flames brought some cheeriness to the stark cold temperatures outside, and Merlotte's was overflowing with people glad for the warmth. Sookie was just glad for the distractions.

She made another round of her tables to make sure everyone had what they needed then went behind the bar to make herself a quick glass of tea. The fire was raging, but she was frozen.

Squeezing some lemon into the steaming mug, she took a sip and barely felt it slide down. It was like swallowing hot air. She drank it anyway, determined to feel something, but once the cup was empty, she was just as cold as before. A minute late, her order was up, and her minibreak was over.

Sookie deposited the onion rings and burgers at the appropriate table and ran back to the bar for some refills of iced tea, but she never made it past the hallway leading to Sam's office.

He popped her head out just as she walked by and called her name. "Sookie, can I see you in here for a minute?"

"Sure, Sam. Just let me get—"

"I already asked Arlene to cover your tables. Come on." Sam jerked his head and waved her inside, leaving her no choice but to follow him.

She closed the door behind her and crossed her arms, hoping to get this over with as quickly as possible.

He got right to the point. "Did something happen between you and Bill?"

Oh, golly. It was going to be one of those talks.

". . . my personal life is none of your business."

"I'm asking as a friend, Sookie. Something's been off with you for awhile, and he hasn't been here in months. I can tell something's up."

Sookie shrugged and looked down at her toe twirling into the floorboards, wishing it would drill her a hole deep enough to escape from this nightmare. Her status with Bill was the absolute last thing she wanted to discuss with Sam, and she did not appreciate how he was scolding her like it was his right. "I'm fine."

Sam leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows on the desk. "Look, I don't pretend that we're best friends or that I expect you to tell me things, but this is starting to affect your job, and I want an explanation."

"I thought you said you weren't asking as my boss?"

"Yeah, well, that was before I knew you were going to be stubborn." He looked at her, and she glared right back. Her mouth was scrunched like she had just sucked on a lemon.

"Bill's gone."

Sam nodded like he expected as much. "How long?"

"Since the end of August."

"Did you guys have a fight?"

". . . not exactly," she looked away, suddenly fascinated by the filing cabinet in the corner.

"Well then what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." She turned to leave. "I have to get back to work."

"Sookie, wait—"

She knew she was being childish and that Sam was only trying to help, but she didn't care. What he was doing right now was the equivalent of taking her favorite pet out to the backyard and making her strangle it with her bare hands until its eyes went dark. This was so not the time.

Once she was back on the floor, Sookie made sure to hustle through the rest of her shift and even managed to smile occasionally just to show Sam that she wasn't as affected by Bill's disappearance as he thought.

If he noticed her sudden change in work ethic, he didn't mention it. In fact, he didn't look or speak to her for the rest of the night—just one more thing to feel guilty about.

The last few hours of her shift passed without incident; nothing but fetching refills, distributing bar food, and forcing idle chitchat. Sam had kept the fire burning, which was still going strong when the time came for closing chores.

At eleven-thirty, Sookie started rolling silverware, refilling condiments, and scrubbing down her tables. Most people had put on their multiple layers and filed out the door when Sam announced last call, and somehow the other two waitresses managed to slip out early, which left her, Sam, and the dying fire. That wasn't awkward at all.

Her back was toward the bar as she finished cleaning the last of her tables, and their mutual silence was adding to her guilt. Sam had only asked about Bill because he cared, and she'd dismissed him like he'd done something wrong She glanced over to the bar and watched Sam clean up puddles of liquor and ice with a dirty rag, his face drawn, and decided to make some kind of peace offering so the shame wouldn't eat away at her for the rest of the night. At least this was one thing she could cross off her laundry list of regrets.

"You look beat," she said, walking over and leaning on the bar, her arms crossed against her chest. "Why don't you go home? I can finish up here."

Sam looked at her, haggard, and considered her offer for no more than a few seconds before nodding. "Thanks," he smiled. "Tonight was a little crazy. I'm exhausted."

She returned his smile—albeit weakly—and took the rag from him, wiping down the rest of the bar. He set his keys on the corner next to the register before heading back for his coat and hat. As soon as he stepped away, Sookie began to put away the liquor.

"You know you can talk to me about . . . you know, _things_," Sam said, when he came back into the bar, covering his messy hair with a ski cap. Sookie bit her lip and tasted blood before nodding once, not looking him in the eyes. Somehow, she didn't think Sam would enjoy hearing how she'd cheated on Bill with Eric and how Bill had run off with his maker to keep her safe.

"Okay, well . . . have a good night, Sookie. Stay warm."

And then she was alone. The fire crackled cheerily in the corner as it devoured its last piece of wood for the night—the only sign of life left in the bar. Soon it would be nothing but smoke and embers.

Enjoying the solitude, she continued to put away the liquor, making sure to lock each cupboard once it was full and purposefully thought of nothing else.

Progress was slow, but she liked the familiarity of the closing rituals and the comfort that the sense of normalcy brought her. Right now, Bill wasn't missing, she wasn't a cheating whore, and Eric was back where he belonged.

When she stood up from squatting behind the bar, she gasped as she caught sight of fat, white flakes drifting around outside. The longer she watched, the heavier they fell. Snow was already rare in this part of the world, but for it to make an appearance in October was impossible.

She stopped working behind the bar and went to the window to watch for a few minutes, startled by how peaceful everything looked. Most of the trees still had their leaves, which gave the phenomenon an almost magical feel.

She lost herself in the lazy dance of the snow and wind and had to tear herself away from the frosted window to get back to work. The fire continued to crack and twinkle, keeping her company.

She'd just finished hanging all the glasses when she felt a flutter in her chest—their obnoxious new bond warning of his imminent arrival. Of course, it hadn't been until _after_ Eric had finished creating it that he explained everything the bond entailed—a freaking built-in honing device customized for a guaranteed reading of Sookie Stackhouse. Because all he needed was to know every emotion running through her, like he didn't have enough power already.

Part of her was tempted to call Sam and tell him she changed her mind and needed him to help finish closing after all. The other part—the less credible part—was actually excited to see Eric, but she quickly shut those thoughts down and imagined how Bill would take the news that while he was off being miserable with his maker, she'd gone to bed with Eric, many, many times. That did the trick.

Much too soon, he arrived, making as grand an entrance as ever, sweeping through the back door and into the dining room. "It's snowing," his grin stretched wider than his face, and snowflakes lingered in strands of his hair and on the shoulders of his leather coat.

A wave of lust crashed into her, almost knocking her down. "Do you know what that does to me?" He smiled dangerously.

Sookie winced and fought the growing heat within her, countering his lust with her own anger and exhaustion. It was taking some practice, but she was getting used to this strange form of communication.

"What are you doing here?"

"I expected you earlier," he said. "I wanted to make sure nothing happened."

Sookie rolled her eyes. "Not for one second do I believe that you were worried about me."

Eric's eyes narrowed at her, but she could tell that he wasn't really angry from the lack of stress pulsing through the bond. At least it had some perks.

"What are you really doing here?"

"I've come to escort you to my home. You will be staying with me for awhile." As he spoke, he lifted a duffel bag and placed it on the bar. It was full. "I've already gathered some of your things. We'll leave as soon as you're finished here."

Sookie gaped at him, dumbfounded. "I am not going anywhere with you."

"You are if you want to stay alive."

"What are you talking about? And who the hell do you think you are going through my house when I'm not there and packing a bag for me?"

"I'm simply trying to help. Stay here then if you prefer an excruciating, unnatural death."

It was clear he was manipulating her, predicting her responses, and backing her into a corner where she would have no choice but to see his logic, despite how much she wouldn't like it, and have to accept his offer. But she was not going to play his game. Not today. This was a matter of pride now.

"Well thanks for the offer, but I think I'll be just fine by myself at home."

She didn't wait for his reaction and pulled the duffel bag over to her, curious to see what he'd decided she would need during her indefinite stay in his home. Inside, was her toothbrush, some books, clothes, and her old family photo album. She tried not to be touched by that last thing and closed the bag, ready for the next round of arguing.

Eric watched her the whole time, annoyed that she was going to be difficult about this.

"I do not think that's wise."

Sookie shrugged and began to empty the register and bag the money.

When she didn't respond, Eric continued. "Lorena and Bill are in Florida, and they're making their way back to Louisiana. Probably within the next month."

That got her attention. She froze over the register, her mind spinning like the snowflakes outside while she tried to decide how she felt about Bill returning. "You're sure?"

Eric didn't like the fain hope flickering through the bond and did his best to squash it. "Remember what I said would happen if you ever saw you Compton again?" he let the question hang in the air for a moment, taunting her. "Lorena is coming for you. And I wouldn't be surprised if Bill helped."

"He's really coming back?" she asked again, her mind refusing to process the information. Eric nodded, surprised that his warning had so little effect.

"How do you know?"

"The King of Florida is an ally, he called to warn me."

Now instead of hope, there was something else in the bond. Something Eric found much more appropriate. Sookie was afraid.

"You have nothing to fear," he said. "I've already issued you an order of protection, and my home is impenetrable. You will be safe."

Sookie shook her head, holding her ground. "I'm still not going anywhere with you."

During the course of their short conversation, the snow had enough time to cover the gravel in the parking lot with a cold, white blanket. Closing the register, Sookie returned to the window, mesmerized, and looked outside. It was like staring into another world—an isolated, lonely place where vampires weren't a part of her daily life. Right now, such a world seemed like heaven.

A minute later, Eric came up close behind her, and a sharp twinge of panic pinched her spine. She could feel his restraint tight in her chest. He wanted her to leave with him, badly. She begged that he wouldn't throw her over his shoulder and haul her back to his lair, knowing all too well that that would be the most likely ending to this little scene. What she didn't know was whether she would be ever allowed to leave.

"Lorena wants revenge, Sookie," Eric said quietly. "She's coming back here to kill you."

"Whatever I did to him, I can't believe that Bill would ever let—"

"Don't be simple," he hissed. "Compton is useless against his maker. I am the only hope you have."

Sookie's heart was pounding as she struggled to find the strength to care that a vampire was thirsting for her blood—and not in a good way. But she was too exhausted, too emotionally drained, to do anything but watch the snow. She was hypnotized by it.

All she cared about was keeping her life as normal as possible. Even if Eric promised to let her leave after the danger had passed, it could still be months or years before Lorena and Bill moved on and she was allowed to return home. She could lose everything in that much time: her home, her job, her friends. He might as well keep her for the next fifty years.

Besides, Bill would fight for her if it came down to it. She knew him better than anyone.

Eric put his hands on her shoulder and turned her away from the window to face him. "Sookie, listen to me—"

"Why do you care so much?"

He hesitated and his eyes flickered once. " . . . I don't care."

"Then let me handle this my way."

"Your way will just get you killed."

"But you just said you didn't care." Sookie argued, taking advantage of his uncertainty. She crossed her arms and smirked up at him. "And besides, I have that order of protection, right?"

"Yes."

"And is there some kind of punishment for violating one of those?"

"Final death."

"So Lorena would have to be insane to come after me then," she said, at the same time trying to believe it herself. "She might hate me, but she can't hurt me."

Eric stared deep into her eyes, amazed that someone could be so logical and so foolish at the same time.

"Lorena is not a rational vampire."

"I appreciate you wanting to protect me, Eric, but if it's all the same to you, I'm not going anywhere."

She could feel his mind probing hers, searching for a weakness as he tried to force his will into her.

"It's not going to work. I don't want to stay with you."

He had her pinned a second later, one arm on either side of her head. The glass of the window was freezing against her back. His eyes were peering down at her, frigid. She looked right back at him with a gaze equally as cold, then ducked beneath his arm and began to walk behind the bar to finish cashing out. "Can you let yourself out? I have to finish up here."

Before she could take three steps, Eric had whipped her around, pulling her back to him and grabbing her jaw with one massive hand. He squeezed hard enough for it to hurt. "You will not dismiss me."

She only struggled against his hold for a minute before going still, her eyes glazing over as she simply waited for him to let go. She'd known he wouldn't let her out of this so easily. He wanted her in Shreveport with him, and Eric got what he wanted.

After another moment, he released her, surprised when she went right back to work as if she'd never been interrupted instead of turning on him and giving him hell for thinking he could control her. He didn't like the lack of emotion coming through their bond. Sookie was always subject to one emotion or another.

"I'm doing this for your own good.

Sookie ignored him, zipped the money pouch closed, and brought it back to Sam's office where she locked it in his desk for him to bring to the bank in the morning. Eric followed.

"I don't know why you're so determined that I stay with you," she lied. Of course she knew he was using her plight to his advantage. He was counting on her to accept his offer of protection so he could get her back on his turf and back where he wanted her. "But it's never going to happen, so you can just forget it."

She returned to the dining room and began flipping chairs upside down and setting them on their respective tables.

"Why not?" he questioned, curious about the indifference wafting through the bond. Earlier, he had sensed her fear, but at some point that had waned into a cold nonchalance. Had he not been so angry about her defiance, he would have thought they were his own emotions.

"Because normally I'm a good person, but whenever you come around, all that goes out the window. I can't give you any more power over my life."

"Do you not enjoy being with me?" Eric stepped toward her, but Sookie countered to make sure the table stayed between them. If he made his usual predatory move, she didn't know whether she could keep denying him.

"It's not that," she said, slowly stepping to the other side of the table as Eric continued to approach. "I just always end up regretting it."

"Why?" he asked again. They were outright circling each other at this point. Like two lions fighting for dominance.

"Because it always reminds me of how I hurt Bill."

This fixation on Compton was becoming more of an annoyance every time he came to see her. "He was going to leave anyway, Sookie."

"But if I'd known—"

"If you'd known, then you would have tried to stop Lorena and you would be dead by now."

Sookie stopped her circling and looked at him. "Eric . . ."

Emotions began to churn inside her again, threatening to overwhelm her logic and just give into him . . . again. But she steeled herself. This was one battle she could not afford to lose. And for whatever reason, Eric wasn't hauling her off like she'd expected—probably another stupid mind game of his, some attempt to get into her favor. She didn't really care why he was giving her the choice, but she was going to use it to her advantage. It's what he would have done.

Eric, of course, sensed her turmoil and said nothing as she continued to process, expecting nothing less than compliance.

". . . I can't go with you," she said finally. "If I stay here and Lorena kills me, or if I go with you and become another fixture in—"

"I wouldn't do that to you," he interrupted, speaking over her.

"—either way the end result is the same."

Eric said nothing, but she could feel the strain within him to keep from sweeping her away like some perverted bride across the threshold of prison. "So you would rather die pointlessly for Bill, then live with me?"

Sookie looked up at him and saw the dying flames of the fire reflected in his eyes. The result was a terrifyingly gorgeous combination of fire and ice. She gulped. "I—well, I don't want to die . . ."

"But you don't trust me."

Sookie nodded in agreement before quickly moving to lift the chairs onto the last four tables.

"That is unacceptable."

"Well, that's how I feel, Eric."

Instead of arguing, he went to his fallback, just as Sookie had predicted. He crossed the room, examined her face, and slanted his mouth down on hers.

The kiss was slow and soft and warmed her belly like a bowl of good soup.

For a second, she whimpered and fell into his embrace, enjoying the weight of his arms around her back too much. A second later, her consciousness reemerged and fought to reach deep and wall off the sensations ripping from her lips all the way to her toes, which were curled inside her sneakers. She was determined that to not let him win. Especially not this way.

For a brief second, anger flickered through her mind, and she latched onto it like a vice. It was the only way she could to keep from melting at Eric's feet and letting him walk all over her. She thought of how he constantly reverted to sex to control her, the fact that he was the reason Lorena had reappeared in Bill's life, the fact that despite everything he'd done, she was starting to care for him. It all fueled the angry blaze inside her, which was now raging at full strength.

Eric felt her body go hard in his hands and the movement of her lips cease against his own. Mostly, he felt her resolve and her fury. He pulled away, surprised by this change in in events.

"You're disgusting," Sookie said as soon as her mouth was free. "You think that just because we had sex that you can make me agree to anything you want?"

Eric didn't speak, so she continued. "I'm not playing this game anymore. If you want me at your house, then you're going to have to throw me over your shoulder and take me kicking and screaming all the way back to Shreveport."

"Be careful, Sookie," he warned. "My patience is wearing very thin."

"Oh, should I be afraid, is that what you're telling me? Do you want to rip my throat out and drain me, because you better get in line."

Eric kept his expression calculated and cool, but inside he was flabbergasted. He had come here to bring her into his home but had wanted her to agree first. If he had taken her against her will, she never would have forgiven him and she would be even further lost to him than she was now. All they needed was some time alone together for her to finally give up on Compton and be his completely. He detested her fixation and her refusal to let the weak imbecile go.

Every time he tasted Sookie, it was like the first time he'd tasted blood. He felt his fondness for her grow deeper and his hunger more ravenous. And he'd only had her for a few weeks—much too soon to lose her to mortality. Keeping her alive a little longer would keep him entertained. The growing attachment he felt had nothing to do with wanting to protect her, yet her insistence on remaining separate was really starting to piss him off.

Despite his growing anger, Sookie pressed on. "You're everything Godric hated about vampires." The minute she said his maker's name, Eric's eyes darkened and rage boiled across the bond. She was hitting below the belt, and they both knew it. She kept talking anyway.

"You're selfish and cruel and don't think twice about ruining someone's life to get what you want. You're the reason my life is shit now, and I would absolutely rather by dead than go anywhere with you." Her face was crimson, and both fists were clenched at her side, but still, she kept going, unable to stop. "You come here pretending to do me a favor, but you're as transparent as they come. I can see you, Eric, and I'm done playing this game. You offered, and I said no, so you can cut out the charade and either take me anyway, so we can treat this 'relationship' like what it really is, or you can leave."

Sookie had no idea what she was doing. The truth, if she was going to be completely honest with herself, was that she was beginning to feel close to Eric. Too close. And not just because of the sex. It terrified her how much she was starting to care for him.

All through Sookie's rant, Eric glowered, his eyes growing blacker with every syllable. By the time she was finished, his fury was palpable and had filled every available space in the dining room. He did not appreciate being called out.

Sookie's heart was pounding with anticipation of what was going to happen. Was Eric the monster she thought he was, or was he willing to let her go? They looked at each other for several ticks of the clock. The only noise was the last of the wood disintegrating in the old hearth.

And then Eric was in directly front of her, crushing her slender throat in his hand. It would be so easy to end it all right there. All he had to do was keep squeezing . . .

Her tan faded into a suffocating blue pallor, but Sookie never broke eye contact as she struggled to hide her growing fear. Still, he smelled it wafting out of her, its pungency stinging in his nostrils.

Now he was the one backed into a corner; Sookie had called his bluff, leaving him with only one option that wouldn't leave him with regret.

He released her throat, irked by the immediate redness where his hand used to be. "The order of protection still stands, but you are a stupid, foolish girl."

Sookie doubled over and coughed air back into her lungs, amazed that he was going to let her stay. When she finally looked up, Eric had vanished. He hadn't even left footprints in the snow.

He was gone and now the shock of what she had just done began to sink in. With no closing chores left to distract her, she collected her coat and purse from Sam's office, shut off the lights, and locked Merlotte's doors before stepping outside into the swirling flakes and driving home.

**Sorry, no sex this chapter. I tried, but smut got into an epic battle with plot, and surprisingly, plot won.**

**Next is Fog. . .**

**It probably won't be up for at least three weeks. I'm hitting up Europe for a little while and won't have access to a computer to write.**


	4. Chapter 4

**All you plot lovers should enjoy this chapter, too :)**

**WARNING: This is a **_**very **_**violent and rather dark chapter, complete with torture.**

Eric was infuriated. Never before had he allowed anyone to influence his decisions, but now this human girl had him practically begging for her obedience. He couldn't grasp why he didn't simply ignore Sookie's protests and take her. What she wanted had never stopped him before. Now he was going out of his way—far out of his way—to protect her.

The cold wind wound tight around Fangtasia as Eric paced his office.

Lorena was back. She had notified Eric that she was in the area the previous night, and he had warned her that Sookie was protected. But one look at her, and it was obvious his warning had no impact. It was only a matter of time before she made her move.

Sookie should have been locked in his office by now, but her approval had begun to matter more than anything else. He enjoyed feeling her happiness radiating in the bond too much. So much so, that now he was putting her life at risk for the sake of her comfort—he needed to bask in her contentment. It reminded him of how the sun's rays had pierced the ocean's surface and the excitement it stirred within him.

Every time he thought about locking Sookie away, his instincts screamed that forcing her would be a mistake. He hadn't survived this long by ignoring his instincts.

Frustrated, Eric sat at his desk and hurried through some of the paperwork that had backed up over the last few weeks, signing his name to checks, bills, and contracts without really looking at them. He had to get to Sookie.

Once the last check was signed, he stood up, pulled on his jacket, and left through the back door.

When he stepped outside, the freezing air was sharp enough to remind him of the Scandinavian winters he came from. After the snowstorm last month, the temperature had continued to drop. It was so cold that the snowy remnants of the storm lay in dirty piles all over northern Louisiana and showed no signs of melting anytime soon.

Not bothered by the stark temperatures, Eric took to the sky and landed in Sookie's front yard fifteen minutes later. He could feel her inside. A cold, dull ache in the bond.

He hadn't enjoyed her body since before the snow, yet he kept coming back. Something about her drew him in—the desire to restore what they once had. He missed feeling her fire when she finally gave into her lust and yielded her body to him. These last few weeks, the only time he felt her passion was when she was angry. That was not what he had wanted from a bond with Sookie.

Prepared for yet another argument, he went inside.

She was in the living room reading on the couch, hiding her body beneath a pile of blankets and sweatshirts, when Eric walked in.

She didn't even look up from her book when he entered the room. "Don't bother trying again, Eric. I'm still not going anywhere with you."

Eric glared but said nothing. This behavior was expected by now. No one but Sookie would have dared treat him so casually, and she was the only one who could get away with it.

As he watched her curled up on the couch, memories of that hot, wet night in August when she first yielded to him surfaced. His desire grew instantly, and he made sure Sookie knew it. She shifted uncomfortably, trying to be subtle about it. He hid a smirk and sat down next to her.

Instantly, she got up and moved to an old recliner on the other side of the room.

"Nice try."

He growled from his spot on the couch. "I am growing tired of these games, Sookie."

"Good. Maybe then you'll find someone else whose life you can ruin." She had yet to meet his gaze.

"Stop being melodramatic."

"Let me know what I said was melodramatic." Her eyes finally looked up at him over the cover of her book as she turned the page.

More than ever, he was tempted to turn around and go back to Fangtasia, leaving Sookie to whatever fate she had devised for herself. His patience had worn thin and was dangling by its last, fragile string. One more tug and it would snap.

He crossed the room and took the book from her hands. "Lorena checked into my area last night. I warned her about the order of protection, but it's not going to be enough." He got down on his knees in front of her, gathering her two tiny hands into one of his. Her eyes stretched wide, and it seemed he was finally reaching her. "She's going to come for you, Sookie—soon."

Blindly refusing to recognize what he was telling her, Sookie said, "Was Bill with her?"

He dropped her hands and took a step back.

An entirely new series of emotions had started to clash within him. Emotions he didn't understand. He'd felt jealousy before, but this was different. Like a needle pricking an artery, unleashing an endless flow of weeping blood. The emotion swirled within him, drowning his sense of reason. After everything that had happened between them, how could Sookie still choose that naïve idiot, Compton? Everything he'd done hadn't even made a dent between her and Bill. The thought caused him physical pain.

Sookie caught a sense of his emotions and looked at him, curious. "Eric—"

"No, Bill was not with her, and you're a fool if you think he's going to protect you." He walked to the door, and a pain in his chest grew stronger with every step. He needed to get away. This obsession was taking over his life, and he didn't like what it was doing to his sense of reason. It was time to let Sookie go.

"Eric, wait!" Sookie called, jumping out of the chair to follow him. She'd felt something in him and needed to see what it was, but he ignored her and had disappeared into the night by the time she reached the front door.

She stood on the porch, arms wrapped around herself for warmth, and peered into the darkness for a few minutes before shivering and returning inside, a strange emptiness that wasn't there earlier sitting hollow in her chest.

Not knowing what else to do, she picked up her book, but it was impossible to concentrate. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Eric and what had just happened in her living room. She'd never felt anything like that from him before and was annoyed that he had stormed out before she could put her finger on exactly what _it_ was. Frustrated, Sookie decided just to go to bed. Maybe then she could clear her head. But that wasn't the answer either. Sleep was elusive, and she tossed and turned the rest of the night.

The next day, Sookie had to work the early shift. After showering and pulling on long pants and slipping a sweater over her Merlotte's t-shirt, she went down to the kitchen for a quick snack before work, but the only things left in her fridge were a few condiments and some variations of beer—neither of which seemed like an appetizing breakfast. She'd been putting off groceries for the past week, but it looked like she was finally going to have to stop if she wanted to eat later on.

With nothing edible left in the house, she doubled up on coffee and left for work, hoping that Lafayette could whip her up some scrambled eggs before things got going.

The shift was typical—slow. Other than a slight lunch rush, Sookie was bored, and the day dragged on. Nothing but the usual customers and their comments on the unusual weather. She did her best to look interested, but her mind kept wandering back to Eric and what happened the night before.

It was six o'clock and dark when she emerged from the employee entrance to go home—well, to the store, then home.

On the way to Shreveport, the air outside grew thick and white as a fog rolled in. It was dense enough that Sookie was forced to slow to a crawl and had to focus on the mere feet of road still visible, hoping that she wouldn't pass the entrance to the plaza.

The fog grew thicker and soon all she could see was a massive white wall in front of her. It had even begun to seep in through the cracks of her windows and doors. It felt cold on her skin.

Not wanting to stop until she was near some civilization, she kept going, albeit slowly, determined to make it to the store. Her stomach rumbled its agreement, reminding her to pick up supplies to make a turkey sandwich for later on.

Eventually, the fog lifted enough for her to get her bearings and to spot the familiar Food Lion logo gleaming ahead of her. Relieved, Sookie pulled into the plaza and parked as close to the door as possible. Other than a few scattered cars, the lot was deserted.

As soon as she stepped outside, the fog immediately swallowed her up. For all she could tell, she might have been a few feet or a few miles away from her car. Her own breath mixed with the condensed air as she walked toward the lit building. She started to shiver.

Other than her footsteps, everything was silent. The fog muffled the sounds around her so much that her feet sounded more like they were in stilettos strutting down an empty, marble hallway rather than in sneakers trudging through a cold parking lot.

She had almost reached the florescent entrance when another pair of footsteps joined hers. They were behind her, next to her, in front of her all at once. Her heart clutched the bond, praying that it was Eric following her, but the bond was still in her chest. Wherever he was, it wasn't nearby.

Sookie's heart rate sped up and she picked up her pace, almost groaning outright when she heard the other pair of footsteps do the same. "No, no, no . . ."

Terror spiked in throat, and she began to run toward the entrance, which was barely a few feet away. She was close enough for the automatic doors to slide open when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the wall of white mist like a human yo-yo.

She turned to face her captor, ready to fight with everything she had, but all that gusto left in a single word.

"_Bill_?"

His expression was unfathomable. An impossibly deep sadness radiated from his eyes, reminding her of the northern lights—distant and heartbreaking.

"I am _so_ sorry, Sookie," he said. She watched as he raised his arm overhead, his eyes never leaving hers. Then there was only blackness.

~*~

The first thing she was aware of was the bitter cold biting at her body; she must have been outside. The second was the thumping going on within her skull. Voices were arguing somewhere nearby—a man and a woman. That was all she could make out over the shrieking pain reverberating against her temples. Her eyes were closed and she remained perfectly still, trying to make out what the voices were saying but failed.

Sticks and pebbles pressed into her back and legs, suggesting that she was in the woods somewhere—probably deep enough so no one could hear her scream. She kept her eyes pressed shut, desperately trying to think of some way out of this mess, but all she could think of was Eric and how he'd been right all along; Lorena had come for her and Bill was useless.

Though she had been abducted and was lying in the woods with a possible concussion, it wasn't until someone shoved a handful of leftover snow into her face that the true reality of her situation crushed the air from her chest.

She coughed and sputtered as the cold chunks of ice and dirt filled her nose and throat.

"Ah," the voice was soft and musical, flavored with a subtle menace. "Sleeping Beauty awakes."

Still coughing, Sookie opened her eyes and had to force them to focus on the smiling face hovering a few inches from her own. The fog swirled around the pair, sealing them in this single pocket of time.

Lorena.

This was it. And Bill was the one who delivered her.

Agony of a level she didn't know existed pulled at her limbs as a rent formed in her heart, shattering it.

The anguish was so great that Eric felt the bond flare to life in his office at Fangtasia, hitting him like a brick to the chest. Instantly, he knew what had happened and was almost outside and in the air before he stopped himself. He had sworn that he wouldn't bother with Sookie anymore. He would get on with his life and leave her to her own mistakes. That was what she claimed she wanted, so that was exactly what he was going to give her. Good riddance.

Scowling, Eric returned to his desk to finish going over the books and fought the pulsing sorrow growing in his chest.

Sookie choked on her tears, and Lorena laughed as if she'd just shared some piece of hilarious local gossip. Her slinky sapphire blue dress rippled against the swirling, white backdrop.

"After your brave little show in Dallas, I thought you would have put up more of a fight." She lowered her face so close that her lips rubbed against Sookie's when she spoke. "Not so brave without your lover to protect you, are you?"

"Go to hell," Sookie spat.

Lorena just laughed and said, "William, come here for a minute, would you?"

From the corner of her eye, Sookie glimpsed Bill approaching through a hole in the fog. Something sharp and wooden was clutched in his hand, and a glimmer of hope fluttered beneath her pain. Bill was going to help after all.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Sookie intentionally made her voice whiny and pathetic to keep Lorena focused on her. In the background, Bill crept closer.

Lorena dragged a long, pointed fingernail down the side of Sookie's face and across her throat, licking her lips. "You simple girl, I'm teaching Bill a lesson. He needs to learn that I will always be the most important person in his life."

"That has nothing to do with me! You won. Bill's yours. Now let me go!" Sookie moved as if she were going to sit up, but Lorena slammed her back. Her head bounced off the frozen ground, sending a wave of nausea sweeping through her gut.

"_Of course_ he's mine," she snapped. "I made him what he is. He will _always_ be mine."

"So why do you have to come after me?"

Lorena hesitated and looked away, and Sookie chanced another glance toward Bill, who was shrouded in the fog; he could have been anywhere.

When Lorena did speak, her voice was hoarse with emotion. "Because as long as you live, he can never give himself to me. He can never love _me_. He will always be stuck on you."

Bracing herself for the pain she was about to provoke, Sookie steeled her gaze and said, "You may be his maker, but you're still a sad, desperate woman. Bill could never love anything as pathetic as you."

Lorena's eyes darkened. "You need to learn to watch what that pretty little mouth of yours says."

"Go ahead, do whatever you want. But you're not going to get away with it. If you kill me, you'll die, too."

"Why, who said anything about killing you?" Lorena laughed. "_I_ just want to play for awhile. Bill's the one who is going to end you."

Sookie's blood drained from her body and Lorena laughed again. Where was Bill?

"Eric will make you pay," she pressed, anxious to keep her distracted.

Her laughing stopped abruptly, and she cocked her head as she looked at Sookie, studying her. "Bill, break her jaw. Her incessant prattling is starting to give me a headache."

Bill emerged from the fog then and lunged at his maker, the stake clutched in his hand. Despite his attempt at surprise, Lorena merely stepped aside, bored, and grabbed Bill's throat, forcing him to drop the weapon.

"You will regret that." She threw him to the ground. "Now, as your maker, I command you to break her jaw . . . And make it painful. I want to hear her scream."

Bill started to pick himself up but only made it to his hands and knees. "I will _not_," he said through clenched teeth.

Terrified, Sookie mirrored Bill and rolled onto her hands and knees, ready to bolt into the fog at a second's notice. If she was going to die, then life was going to be dragged out of her, kicking and screaming the whole way. She would not roll over for them, no matter what they did to her.

He started to shake with the effort to disobey.

"Bill," Sookie said in a last-ditch effort. "Don't do this. I know you're stronger than her."

He only said one word before standing upright, facing her. "Run."

She didn't need to be told twice and immediately abandoned the effort to bring Bill over to her side, taking off into the fog, which closed behind her. She heard the sounds of Bill's furious scream mixed with Lorena's delighted giggle fade as she put distance between herself and the vampires. They faded quickly, and soon, the only noises were her breath wheezing in her chest and her feet beating the ground at a frantic pace.

Trying to run was pointless, Sookie knew that, but she had to do something. If nothing else, maybe she could find somewhere to hide until morning. It was unlikely, but her options had been drastically reduced; at this point, it was either hide or panic, and her head needed to be clear.

As she ran, she became aware of trickling water to her right. Without thinking, she veered toward that sound, pushing her body to move even faster.

There were no other options, so she lowered herself into the water, careful not to make any noise. Her body instantly became numb wherever it touched the icy stream, and she had to bite back a scream. Now all her effort was focused on keeping her teeth from chattering and giving away her hiding spot. Before long, her mind drifted to hypothermia and wondering how long it took to set in.

Time slipped by, but Sookie had lost track. All she was aware of was the cold and her aching chest. Why didn't she listen to Eric? She could have been in bed with him right now, safe and warm.

A stick snapped nearby and startled her. She let out a soft cry, cursing herself, and instantly clamped a shivering hand over her mouth. But it was too late. A second later, Lorena stood over her, her stilettoed feet ankle-deep in mud.

"Well, look what we have here?" She reached down and dragged Sookie out of the stream by her hair. Sookie's legs thrashed uselessly beneath her.

Without a word, Lorena dropped her to the ground and watched as she tried to crawl away. She scurried in the mud like a snake, slipping and sliding from the ice and cold. After a few seconds, Lorena grabbed Sookie's left ankle, effectively ending her escape, lifted it above her waist, and then placed her muddy foot just above the back of Sookie's knee. With one jerk of her arm, Lorena snapped both her thigh and her ankle.

"Can't have you running off again." She dropped Sookie's mangled leg in the mud.

The pain was catastrophic. It swept up and pulled her down, consuming her leg with millions of tiny teeth. Sookie released a choked scream and her arms gave out, crashing her face into the frozen mud. Even breathing reeked of torment.

As she lay writhing in pain, the same pair of slow, heavy footsteps from the parking lot approached. Sookie prayed that somehow it was Eric coming to rescue her. He had forgiven the way she'd brushed him off and was here to take her away from this awful place. The footsteps grew closer and Sookie looked up just as Bill emerged from the fog, his expression set in stone. Defeated, she lowered her head back to the cold ground and waited.

As Bill approached, a smile tickled the corners of Lorena's mouth. "Now, William," she said, her voice positively gleeful. "Do as you're told."

He glared at Lorena, hate pouring from his rimmed eyes, but she didn't waver. Her perfectly arched eyebrows raised expectantly as she waited for the inevitable.

Sookie moaned when Bill reached for her face, plucking it out off the ground like he was pulling a weed. Her chin was cupped in the center of his palm.

"I'm sorry," he said for the second time that night and the last flicker of hope died within her. Eric wasn't coming, Bill wasn't going to fight for her, and she had exhausted all her resources. There was nothing left to do but die with as much dignity as she could.

Bill looked away and jerked his arm.

The pain was so great that her eyes rolled back into her head. Her jaw hung limp, completely unhinged from the rest of her face, and she didn't recognize the strangled cry coming from her throat.

Unable to contain her excitement, Lorena clapped her hands and spun in the mud, a smile stretched wide across her face.

Sookie's eyes met Bill's, and even through the pain, her disgust was evident. He only gazed back at her, his shame obvious.

Sookie gurgled incoherently at him, spitting blood down her chin, then finally collapsed on the ground, waiting for the next round of suffering.

The next few hours were a blur of blood and dirt and screaming. Sookie was reduced to an animal, howling like a disemboweled deer, as physical agony crashed down on her again and again. She prayed for death. Bill had stopped fighting Lorena's influence and did whatever was commanded of him without complaint. He gouged and squeezed and tore at Sookie's body, which was beyond unrecognizable before they were done.

And she endured it all, thinking of Eric the entire time. She regretted how they left things, how she'd never get to say goodbye.

At long last, Lorena said. "I'm growing tired of these games. Let's drain her and be done with it."

Sookie closed her one good eye, relieved that it was almost over. She only cried out once as her ruined body was pulled into a sitting position, her head cocked to the side to make room for Bill's mouth. Lorena lifted her wrist to her mouth and smiled as she bit down.

She barely felt their fangs pierce her skin, nor did she notice her remaining strength dwindle away—it was already half gone anyway. She simply closed her eyes and let the darkness swallow her.

"She's almost gone now, Bill." Lorena said, dropping Sookie's wrist as she did so. It hit the ground with a soft thud, lying there limp and in a weird angle. Already, her voice was distant and muffled, as if she were talking through a wall. "Finish her. Do it for me."

With each pull on her neck, the fog closed in a little tighter. Soon the world faded into black and white and grew still. The only sound left was the slowing beats of her heart.

Less than a minute later, the fog closed in completely and carried her away. Sookie was gone—dead and buried as far as she was concerned.

Before she could drift too far away, her chest fluttered weakly, then again, stronger. Sookie tried to ignore it, but the pull was too strong. It pulsed angry and red within her, and she became aware of scuffling and snarling going on over her head. Gradually, the snarling gave way to screaming, which was cut off by an eerie stillness.

The next thing she was aware of were two cold, blue eyes above hers, swimming in concern. "Hold on," they said. "Hold on, Sookie."

A cool, metallic liquid then poured into her gaping mouth and slipped down her throat. She began to choke, coughing and sputtering, but the eyes told her she had to swallow, so she did her best. Every time she pulled the liquid down her throat, the pain lessened and it became easier to drink. She closed her eyes and swallowed deeply, unable to get enough.

When she opened her eyes, she realized that she was cradled against a massive, stony chest—Eric's chest.

"I have to get you inside," he said. "Try not to struggle."

Before Sookie could respond, they were fifty feet off the ground and above the fog. She couldn't tell how fast they were moving, which was probably for the best. She didn't feel fear—only safety—and managed to slip into a deep, dreamless sleep, where she remained for forty-eight hours.

Unsure of how Sookie would react if she awoke in his home, Eric brought her all the way back to Bon Temps to heal, sleeping in the ground outside her window during the day. At night, he stood close guard, never leaving her side. He'd given her a massive dose of blood and was worried about the effects such an amount might have. He didn't think it would be enough to turn her, but she'd lost so much blood by the time he got to her, anything was possible.

The first thing he did after laying her out atop the bed was to gently wipe away the dirt and matted blood with a warm wash cloth. When he found her, he didn't believed that the pile of shivering mud, blood, and hair was Sookie. Now, as he looked down at her resting form, taking inventory of all her injuries, he cursed himself for waiting so long. He should have left the moment he felt her distress. She had called to him through the bond, but he ignored it thanks to his own stubborn denial. It wasn't until he felt her give up, felt her lose the will to live, that he knew he had to fight for her. Despite the lies he'd been telling himself for the past few months, she mattered to him. She mattered a great deal.

**I can't decide if I'm going to do one or two more chapters, so no weather preview in this update. Sorry :( **

**Either way, I promise the next chapter will contain a lemon or two. **


	5. Chapter 5

**I was trying to go for a water = renewal theme here. Not sure if I pulled it off, but at this point, I'm not sure that I care.**

Blackness pressed against the small, white farmhouse, biding its time, like a marauder stalking his next victim. Eric sat inside Sookie's bedroom in a small folding chair next to the bed where he'd been since sunset. The past two days he'd slept outside in front of the rosebushes unable to go back to Shreveport until he was sure she was all right.

This weakness did not sit well with him.

Instead of checking in with Pam about the happenings at Fangtasia, most of his time was spent reaching out to test for any activity in their bond, but there was only static. Something was keeping him out, a large obstruction preventing him from knowing what was going on inside Sookie and from knowing how to help.

This latest attempt to reach out was no different. She was lying on her back, her arms at her side and her legs straight, almost like a corpse set out for a wake were it not for the ritualistic rising and falling of her chest. At least he hadn't turned her.

It had been close, though. Bill had just about drained her dry by the time he'd arrived, and Eric had given her only enough blood to keep her from dying. That meant the healing process would be slow, and probably quite painful, but if she woke up displeased by the side effects, he would be only too happy to finish the job and turn her. She just had to say the word . . .

When he touched her hand, it was cold even to him. He sat motionless in the chair, with her shattered hand enclosed in his, remembering how close he'd come to losing her.

The moment he'd landed on the scene, he'd staked Lorena with a tree branch. She was standing over Bill and Sookie, grinning like a fool, and hadn't sensed his arrival until a large tree branch was plunged deep into her chest with an extremely satisfying crunch. She didn't have time to scream, and he didn't have time to give her the death she'd deserved—slow and excruciating.

But when it came time to deal with Bill, he'd shown mercy, much more mercy than he was comfortable with. He'd had every right to kill him for violating the order of protection and for attacking his bonded, but he'd given him the least-allowable punishment for no other reason than to appease Sookie: banishment and starvation.

Of course, Bill had screamed like the pathetic excuse he was when Eric extracted his fangs. He'd expected nothing less. Even after Lorena was finally dead, he hadn't so much as glanced in Sookie's direction because he was far too caught up in his own plight. Like his maker, Bill was punished quickly then left writhing in the dirt as Eric took off with Sookie.

After a moment, he sat back in the chair and scraped a hand against the stubble on his cheek, never looking away from the bed.

The weather outside behaved much like how Sookie looked beneath the bedclothes—cold and dormant. The stars and moon were concealed behind a thick blanket of clouds, which held the freezing temperatures close to the earth. There was no breeze, no change, almost as if the landscape were holding its breath.

The hours ticked by slowly, but at some point he'd started to notice signs that she was returning to him. Finally. Her heartbeat began to increase and her head pivoted once on her neck. Her eyes remained shut, but that wouldn't last much longer.

An hour later, Sookie's stirring grew and her eyes fluttered open and moved about the room slowly, confused. Unable to keep his distance, Eric was on his knees at eye level a second later.

Pain was the main sensory input. Pain all throughout her legs, her face, her pelvis, her arms, her hands—everywhere. It cut at her like scissors through wrapping paper.

It was only when Eric purred her name that she even realized he was there. The pain had set up some big roadblock in her brain, cutting off all contact and encompassing everything else. She didn't even feel static where the bond used to connect them.

"You're awake."

"Ugh, I wish I weren't," she growled and attempted to roll over, trying to remember why it was so difficult. Talking was much harder than it should have been. Her jaw was stiff and her lips could barely form words, almost like someone had started to wire her jaw shut then stopped with the job half done.

She yanked her right arm from beneath the bed sheets and prodded her face, wincing as fingertips grazed jawbone. "What happened? Did I lose a fight with a bulldozer?"

Her voice was hoarse and old, and all Eric wanted to do was to crawl into bed and touch every inch of her body to make sure that she was really alive. He refrained—with some difficulty—and reassessed instead.

An opportunity had presented itself.

She didn't remember. He could tell her whatever he liked.

Visions of him explaining how Lorena had attacked her on her way to work played out like actual memories. In his head, he would have left as soon as he felt her pain and he would have gotten to her just in time. She would owe him her life.

But when he looked at her, the desire to lie died within him. Gods, this woman was making him weak. He should be enjoying himself right now, sampling multiple luscious girls with sweet, succulent blood, not crouched in a human girl's bedroom, buried in guilt. This was a behavior more suited to Compton than an area sheriff.

"Eric?" she pressed, waiting for an answer.

True, he wouldn't lie to her, but that didn't mean he had a problem with being vague.

"You were hurt. I gave you blood, but it will still take time to heal. Your injuries were . . . extensive."

Sookie's face remained expressionless. A part of him hoped she would accept the simple explanation and not ask any more questions—like why he'd taken so long, for example. The larger part knew better. Already she was staring at him, hard, waiting for the rest of the story.

"Lorena . . ." He let the name hang in the air.

Her eyes stretched wide in response and she struggled to sit up. Eric tried to watch, to remain detached, but when her arm gave out from under her, he reached forward and arranged her body gently, supporting it against the headboard, even remembering to set a pillow behind her back.

Sookie had absolutely no recollection of an encounter with Lorena—not even an echo. If it weren't for the regret laced in his eyes, she would have thought he was making it up as some kind of sadistic "I told you so" attempt.

Her mind worked double time, searching for the missing pockets of memory in her brain but it kept coming up empty. She should have been afraid, but the pain was too great to feel anything else.

"I don't remember . . ."

He nodded once. "It's probably best that you don't."

The bond had yet to escape the gaping vacuum between them, to the point where he was beginning to feel concerned. He'd hoped it had been quiet because Sookie was unconscious for so long. Now it seemed like that wasn't the case. She must have been repressing much more than just the memories of that night in the woods; she was repressing him, too.

"What did she do?" Sookie asked.

"We can discuss that later. Right now, you need to rest."

She started to shake her head then stopped when the room began to spin. "I need to know."

Eric only glared.

"_Tell me_."

He reached a careful hand out and grazed her cheek with his knuckles. "It's not important."

"Eric, please just tell me. Was Bill with her?"

He thought for a moment, breaking from her gaze to study the dull floral pattern of the comforter. What was it with her and fucking Compton?

Nothing would have made him happier than to shatter any lingering affection she may have had for the coward then and there, but he didn't know how much she could handle. With no access to her emotions, he had no way to gauge her state of mind, though it seemed prudent to hold off telling her that her former lover had been in the middle of killing her when he'd arrived. Maybe he'd tell her of Bill's involvement one day, maybe she'd even remember it of her own accord. But he wasn't going to say anything tonight. Instead, he danced around her question.

"When I got there, you weren't breathing."

Sookie went pale—well, paler. "What, exactly, did she do?"

". . . a great deal."

They both knew that she could figure out how Lorena had entertained herself, but she continued to look at him expectantly, waiting to hear him say it.

"She made sure you suffered."

It was quiet for a few minutes while her imagination worked to fill in the wide gaps of Eric's story with lots of yanking, twisting, and crushing. That was all the explanation she needed, and it would probably fill her dreams for a long while. But the longer she sat there waiting for the fear or anger, hell, even some discontent, the more something didn't seem right; something wasn't adding up.

When she looked over at him, her eyes were sharp. "Where were you?"

Eric only looked at her. For someone who had been unconscious for days, her mind was functioning a little too well.

"Did they take me so far out in the boondocks that you couldn't get there 'til the last second?"

". . . you cannot expect me to show up every time you are in danger. I've offered to protect you from Lorena repeatedly, but you insisted on being stubborn."

"So, what? You didn't come because you wanted to teach me a lesson?" Her body was lying perfectly still, but her eyes were restless and probing. "I get that you were right and that I did need some kind of protection, but you gave me no options."

"I let you choose to stay where you were."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, you're right. What a great option that was."

"Would you have preferred that I took you anyway?"

Sookie looked away, distracted by several mangled fingers. From the looks of them, it looked like Lorena had broken at least eight. Some in more than one place. All a direct result of her pigheaded refusal to go with Eric. "Why didn't you?"

Eric waited until her eyes returned to his before he said, "I wanted you to trust me."

"And you thought letting Lorena almost kill me was the best way to do that?" Her voice was hard and flat—two qualities he'd never associated with Sookie before now.

On top of that, the bond remained still, making it impossible for him to know how to handle the situation. He was flying blind. So he settled on his default, leaning in to graze her lips softly with his own. "None of that matters now. I got to you in time. She won't hurt you again."

When he pulled away, her features remained stony. That was typical. What really worried him was the absence of _any_ kind of sensation. Before, every time he'd kissed, or even touched her, the bond shocked them both like electricity.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Nothing," he lied, his face unflinching. "I've told you everything I know."

"I don't believe you. You're hiding something. I can feel it."

Eric pulled away and stood, towering over her shriveled body lying in the bed.

"If you weren't trying to teach me a lesson, then where were you? Why didn't you come sooner?"

"I was . . . occupied."

"Despite the pain, Sookie pulled herself more upright in the bed, wincing, all thoughts of Bill forgotten for the moment. "Don't play games with me, Eric. Not about this. _Where were you_?"

"Now is not the time for this conversation." He was moving next to the window, his eyes glinting dangerously in the pale light when it became clear that she wasn't going to stop asking questions.

"Oh, don't give me that. Stop evading and just tell me what was so damn important that you could barely find the time to keep me from being killed."

Neither gaze broke down. "It's not my responsibility to keep you alive."

"But it's your fault my life was in danger in the first place. That should count for something,"

Eric glared, anger tying his jaw tight—mostly that he'd allowed himself to be backed into yet another proverbial corner by the same human girl. She wanted the truth. Fine. He would tell her the truth. What did he care anyway? "I had some business to take care of at Fangtasia."

Her eyes grew heavy and fell to her broken hands, which were sitting useless in her lap. "Life or death business?"

". . . No."

Sookie felt herself get swallowed up. After all his manipulation and scheming and affirmations that he was the only one who could protect her, he'd _chosen_ to let her suffer. She should have been pissed to high heaven, but she just felt lost.

With nothing to gauge her emotions, Eric was left utterly frustrated. She was sitting there in bed, motionless, lacking any kind of visible reaction. He waited for her to start yelling and cursing him, but there was none of that. Not this time. She was just lying there like a storm cloud waiting to burst.

After a few minutes, she said, "It's funny. I thought I meant a little more to you than that. At least now I know where I stand."

He felt a wrench in his chest and had to fight the urge to pull her in his arms and keep her there until she understood how irrational his need for her was, how he hadn't stopped regretting waiting so long since the moment he found her that night.

"Just tell me why." Her entire body was shaking, mostly from the nerve endings waking up and taking role of all her injuries. She knew Eric's revelation should hurt, and to some degree, it did, but the emotional pain was distant, an afterthought. "If it bothered you so much, why'd you even show up at all? You could have let Lorena finish the job and got me out of your hair forever."

He blinked a few times but didn't respond right away. He'd wondered the very same thing on an almost constant basis. Finally, he said. "It didn't feel right."

Sookie paused, surprised that he would admit that, then struggled to pull herself out of bed. Everything felt like it was pressing in too close. She needed to stand, to walk, to be mobile, but every time she tried to get up, she would fall back onto the mattress. Eric couldn't stand the sight and went to her, wrapping his right arm around her lower back and helping her to her feet. Once there, she pushed him away and grabbed onto the dresser for support.

"I don't want your help."

Once there, she stood against the antique furniture, silent, trying to process. But her mind had other ideas. Instead of honing in on what to do about her current situation, she involuntarily turned back to that first night Eric decided to show up. The night the weather had been hot enough to choke a pig. The night she'd traded Bill in for an upgrade. The night Eric had satisfied her in more ways than she could have imagined. The night that started everything. As soon she went back there, the last piece fell into place, the last thing he was hiding from her—Bill.

"Where's Bill?"

If Eric's blood had still flowed, it all would have pooled in his gut. Sookie's return from death was not going at all the way he'd planned. And it was about to get worse.

He should have wanted to tell her that every bit of pain she was feeling now was the direct result of her former lover. That when he arrived, Bill's fangs had been buried to the incisors in her flesh, drinking her dry. That even after Lorena was dead, he hadn't spared one glance in her direction before pleading for his life. But after meeting her eyes, he didn't have the will to tell her anything but, "You won't see Bill again."

Sookie sat down then, slumped against the dresser like a doll. "You killed him?"

"I did what I had to in order to keep you safe." He could have told her that he'd left Bill alive, but he had no guarantee that she wouldn't try to find him, and that was unacceptable. If he couldn't have her, then Bill most certainly could not. He'd rather she despised him.

"How could you . . ."

He shrugged, holding onto his expression of nonchalance. "It's done."

Sookie didn't move for several minutes, and it was becoming more difficult for Eric to remain aloof. It was maddening not knowing how to help her, what she needed from him. When she did speak, it was little more than a shallow whisper.

"Get out of my house."

His eyebrows lifted in surprise as he immediately backed away from the window and out of the room when he managed to grab the doorframe.

"Don't do this."

"I said get out!" Sookie screamed from her spot on the floor.

A wall of wind seemed to accompany her words strong enough to break his grip and push him from the room, down the stairs, and out the door into the freezing winter night before he could utter another syllable.

From the yard, he looked up into her window and watched as she dragged herself back into bed. The only thing he felt was a foreign tightness hard in his chest and a bitter taste in his mouth—the kind you get after sampling bad blood.

It was done. She'd made his decision for him. Sookie wanted to be left alone, and he needed to get on with his life. She was alive and healing, which meant he could do so guilt-free. Stealing one last glance at the waitress who'd engrained herself within him, he took off into the starless sky determined to free himself of all infatuation.

As soon as he was gone, Sookie collapsed into bed, still frozen. There was no urge to cry, to throw things, to defenestrate. She felt empty—empty and exhausted. Pain was her whole world. Sighing, she pulled her legs under Gran's down comforter, her face contorting as she did so, and slept for another twelve hours.

00

For whatever reason, Sookie's car had disappeared. The morning after Eric left, she'd dragged herself to the window and saw it missing from its usual spot at the end of the driveway. Eric hadn't mentioned anything, but she was sure it was Lorena's fault her car was MIA.

Oh, well. At least it gave her an excuse to hand out as to why she was beaten beyond recognition.

When she called Sam to tell him that she'd need some time off, she told him it was because she'd been in a bad car accident. She didn't know what she'd say if her car magically reappeared one day, or even worse, if it didn't. Her insurance probably didn't cover vanishing cars, unless, of course, she said it was stolen, but that would lead to an investigation, which was a whole other tangled web of issues she'd have to deal with. It was easier to cut her losses and move on, and if that meant being without a car for awhile, then so be it.

Sam agreed immediately to time off, promising that she'd still have a job when she was ready to come back and then in the same breath offering to bring her over some hot soup from Merlotte's kitchen during his lunch hour. From the tone of his voice, she didn't think he really believed the car accident story, but so long as he wasn't asking any questions, she didn't care.

If only the rest of the recovery process was as easy as making up a stupid excuse. Eric hadn't been kidding when he said it was going to take time to heal.

Her bones still ground together like splintered wood and there were painful lumps covering her body where there hadn't been before along with oozing cuts and colorful bruises. Forget car accident, she looked like she'd been hit by a semi.

She waited for the inevitable grief that would accompany the loss of Bill, but it didn't come. She couldn't even muster up anger at Eric for putting her in this mess. Every time she tried to feel anything, all she could drum up was an anticlimactic bubble of one emotion at a time that disappeared as quickly as it came, so she directed most of her attention toward the most basic functions of eating, sleeping, and bathing. Nothing else seemed worth the energy.

At least the weather was starting to turn around. The freezing chill had ebbed and the landscape was taking on a greener hue, signaling the return of life to the area. Soon the rains would come and make everything lush and vibrant again.

Sookie spent most days holed up in her room, watching the return of spring from her window. She sat there like a mannequin, never really moving, not really alive. Inside she was still as dormant as those trees had been during winter. Her body was recovering but not her spirit. Weeks later, and she still had no recollection of what happened with Lorena.

And she hadn't heard anything from Eric.

Once she was able to stand with minimal pain, she called her brother to mooch a ride to Merlotte's to see Sam about coming back to work.

He'd agreed, albeit reluctantly, and promised to take her over there on his break.

A few hours later, his massive truck roared up the driveway, and Jason hopped out, hauled her into the cab next to him, then flew back down the driveway fast enough to make Sookie wish she had her sad, little car back.

When they got to Merlotte's, Sam took her into his office and listened without interrupting to all the reasons why she was ready to come back to work, but he was still hesitant. Her limp was severe and parts of her were still swollen and purple. And there was just something . . . off. It didn't take a genius to know that she'd been through something far worse than a car accident. But he wasn't going to push her about that today. Right now, his main concern was getting her back to normal.

"I don't know if you're ready, Sook," he said leaning in his office chair after she finished. "You don't seem like yourself. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I already told you I'm fine." Her voice was completely vacant. "Please, Sam, I have bills to pay. I need the money."

Sam was wary. But he really didn't like how much time she was spending alone. If she came into work, he could at least keep an eye on her.

He leaned forward in his chair, his arms stretching across the desk. "Tell you what I'll do. I'll schedule you for two shifts later this week, and we'll see how it goes. You shouldn't push yourself."

She shrugged. "Okay, thanks."

"I'll call you."

Sookie nodded, and before he could say anything else, she'd pulled herself to her feet and limped away to find Jason to take her back home.

As luck would have it, her first day back to work just so happened to be the first day of the rainy season. Early spring in Louisiana was worse than winter. Most of the time, the entire region became one giant swamp. You couldn't stand outside anywhere for very long because you'd end up ankle deep in stinky mud. And then there was the ever-present threat of flooding. Winter was a cakewalk in comparison.

The day she was due back, she started getting ready more than two hours before she had to go in. Showering and making herself presentable was much more of a process than before. Bathing was difficult, but it was worth the hassle just to feel the warm water streaming down her sore body.

After her shower was done, her hair was pulled back, her uniform was on, and the last of her visible bruisers were covered up with pounds of makeup, she went out to the porch and waited for Lafayette to pick her up for their shift, an umbrella stretched across her lap. The sky was heavy with impending rain, and the clouds were low enough to skim the tops of the trees. Everything looked muted without the sunlight; the trees, the sky, the dirt, it was all variations of gray.

Sam had scheduled her to work from opening until six-thirty, right when the dinner rush started to pick up. He'd said he wanted to ease her into things, make sure she could handle it, but she knew it was because he was afraid that any kind of hard work would actually kill her, or at the very least put her in a coma.

As expected, Lafayette was late, pulling up with an unidentifiable funk band blaring through the car speakers with the base was so loud, she could feel it all the way from her porch. Normally, she would have enjoyed the music and danced in her seat the whole way to work, but those few seconds of noise were enough to give her a raging headache.

"Hey, baby-girl, how you feeling?" He got out of the car to help her down the porch steps wearing a bright purple bandana and a skin-tight black tank top, but she shrugged him off and focused her energy on keeping the grimace off her face.

"I'm fine."

"Yes you is," he punctuated his words with a snap of his fingers and left her to help herself, waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. A minute later they were in the car and on their way.

Part of her knew that she shouldn't be going back so soon, and that it was very likely she'd regret doing so, but this was about being proactive. Even she realized something was wrong with her, and sitting inside all day was not making her any saner. Maybe the familiar distractions of her job would help.

After they'd pulled into the parking lot—the radio turned off—Lafayette made sure to match Sookie's pace as they walked to the employee entrance, blathering on about his latest boy toy. He was Indian and a med student.

She tried her best to be interested, but it wasn't happening. She just couldn't find it in her to care that Lafayette had access to an entire rainbow of painkillers and would be happy to help a sister out.

The last thing she needed was to feel more numb.

She forced a smile. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm okay."

He looked at her sideways and patted her back once. "All right, Sook. You let me know when you change your mind."

Sookie nodded but didn't answer. It was time to pull herself up the back steps and get ready for her shift.

By the time she made it out to the main dining room, Lafayette was helping Terry prep the kitchen, and Sam was setting up the bar. Her fingers, though better, still weren't fully functional, so she brought her apron over to Sam and asked him to tie it for her. He acted like it was no big deal, but she'd caught the look of pity. Apron in place, she walked to one of the empty tables and started rolling silverware.

With no more than five sets of silverware ready for use, her leg began to throb, aching jolts of pain pulsing throughout her entire leg bad enough to force her to finish the silverware sitting down, which was also how she refilled the condiments and napkin holders. It was going to be a long day.

After he finished with the bar, Sam came over and helped her finish her prep. "I'm only going to have you cover two tables today," he said. "Arlene's coming in to cover the rest. It's a slow shift, so it shouldn't be a big deal."

"That's fine."

"You let me know if you need a break, okay?" he pressed. "I don't want you hurting yourself all over again."

She was completely focused on filling the salt shakers. "Got it."

He sat with her a moment longer before retreating back into his office, and she kept her attention on the task at hand until every last container of salt and tin napkin holder was full to capacity.

Once Merlotte's opened, it was still a couple hours before anyone came in. With all the opening chores done, that extra time was spent with most of the staff milling around the bar, talking, while Sookie sat off to the side, silent.

Occasionally, someone would ask her something, and she'd answer with as few words as possible then go back to being the quiet watcher. From the looks she was starting to get, it was obvious she was starting to freak a couple of them out. How fortunate that the first customer of the day sat at one of her tables.

Lurching to her feet, she ran over quick as molasses, ignoring the look of concern on the elderly farmer's face as she wobbled in front of him and took his order—burger and fries.

Soon after that, she slipped into robot mode, doing her job without having to think about anything. The pain no longer registered as she gimped back and forth between her tables, the bar, and the kitchen; everything was automatic.

When six thirty rolled around and the dinner rush picked up, she felt well enough to keep working, so she continued to take and deliver orders with the best of them. The bar had gotten so busy that Sam didn't notice the time, and she was able to keep working without argument.

At some point during the day, it had started to rain. Those unfortunates who had been caught unaware by the weather were coming in soaked like they'd just jumped in a lake, and everyone was tracking in mud and what seemed like buckets of water in their boots. Poor Terry had had to mop up the mess three times already.

When the sun was set, the rain was still going strong and so was Sookie.

It wasn't until she'd brought an empty pitcher over to the bar for Sam to refill that he remembered she was supposed to go home hours ago.

"Sookie?" his eyes were surprised and a little upset. "What are you still doing . . ." he trailed off as the door swung open behind her and the latest patron entered. His eyes were wide with an entirely different expression now.

When the pitcher was full, Sookie grabbed it from beneath the tap, put it on her tray, and spun to greet whoever was causing such a stir, but when she made eye contact, all sensation left her body and the tray crashed to the floor, soaking her socks with the soapy, foamy liquid.

"_Bill_?" Or at least what used to be Bill. His face had sunken so far into itself that it resembled more of a skull with a wig sitting on top of a well-dressed mannequin. He was emaciated. Skin and bone. She hadn't thought that was possible for a vampire. On top of that, his hair was plastered to his skin and his clothes were soaking, emphasizing how weak and frail he'd become. He must have been outside in the rain all night. "What happened to you?"

When he opened his mouth, two gaping holes stood where his fangs used to be, and when he spoke, she'd found that his deep southern drawl had dried up to the point where it was reminiscent of shuffling papers. "I must speak with you."

The bar had gone silent as every pair of eyes in the building turned to watch their exchange.

Pulling herself out of the stupor, she nodded, then quickly ran behind the bar to heat up a True Blood before leading him to the back, not asking Sam for a break. She was supposed to be off the clock anyway. After grabbing her coat and umbrella from Sam's office, she stepped outside the employee's exit. Bill followed behind silently. The only sign of the drink she'd offered not a minute earlier was a pink ring around his mouth.

Bill couldn't understand why she hadn't attacked him on sight, but he wasn't going to ask any questions. Not about that anyway. He'd gone months without knowing whether she'd lived or died, slowly losing his mind with guilt. As soon as he found out she'd survived, he made his way from Kentucky back to Bon Temps, ignoring Eric's promise to kill him if he returned. Despite everything, he loved her and had to at least try and make things right, whatever the consequences. He'd never expected that she wouldn't remember.

When they were both outside, and she was safely beneath her umbrella, she asked again, "What happened to you?"

"You don't remember?"

Right away, she knew exactly what he was talking about and shook her head. "No. I can't remember anything about that night."

Bill nodded, unsure of how to proceed.

"I thought Eric killed you."

"Is that what he told you?"

"More or less." The rain spattered hard against the fabric of her umbrella, making it difficult to hear anything else.

"What else did he say?"

"Not much." Sookie didn't like the expression on his face. "What's going on, Bill? Where have you been?"

He stared hard at her for a minute, and Sookie saw something. A memory. A flicker of herself crouched in a freezing stream. Her eyes stretched wide, and the breath hitched in her chest.

"You really don't remember?" he asked.

That one sputter of recollection was just the first as the dam in her mind finally gave way, releasing a torrent of painful memories. Every last detail of that night her subconscious had repressed surged forward in a tidal wave that almost knocked her down. How Bill was the one to take her from the parking lot, how he'd almost helped her escape, how he'd broken her bones and almost drained her dry. How he'd stopped fighting Lorena's commands and willingly hurt her. The umbrella was suddenly too heavy to hold up and she let it fall to the side.

"You . . ." Her hands came up to her face while hot tears mixed with cold rain on her cheeks and her heart lurched to life for the first time since she woke up, piling on even more drama. "You were the one . . ."

He took a step toward her. "You need to let me explain—"

"Stay away from me," she said, backing up. Her entire body seemed to be imploding under the weight of the memories.

"Vampires cannot disobey their maker's command. No matter how much they try," Bill approached as he spoke. It was slow, almost as if he were trying to corner a scared animal. "Lorena was using me to hurt you so she could make a point. You must believe that I did everything I could to help—"

"I said stay back!" Sookie's continued to back up, adjusting her direction toward the Merlotte's back entrance. Being alone with Bill was much too much right now. "I don't care what you did, and I don't know what you think you're doing here now, but I'm asking you to please just stay away from me."

She took a chance to turn toward the door, but he appeared barely a foot away from her, blocking her path of escape.

"I can't," his stance was strong, even in the soppy, muddy ground. He reached out to touch take her hand in his, but she jerked away from him. "Not until I make you understand."

She closed her eyes and tried to get it together, but she just kept falling apart. The rain had soaked through her clothes and made all her joints ache. She was shivering from cold and fear, both rooted deep within her, affecting her judgment. It was so tempting to just curl up into a little ball right there in the mud and ignore everything until she went numb again.

As she stood with her eyes closed, a new strength seemed to funnel into her from somewhere else, grounding her. It entered through her chest then spread through the rest of her body, reinforcing her from the inside out. She latched onto that new courage like white on rice, slowly regaining some sense as it encouraged her to be strong. It didn't matter where that strength was coming from, so long as it didn't go anywhere. When her eyes opened, they were composed and unwavering. "That's not your decision to make."

Bill started to beg, "Please, Sookie. Just give me one chance—"

"I have nothing more to say to you. Please don't try to contact me again." She turned away to go inside, but he grabbed her injured arm and pulled her back to face him. When he yanked her arm, she couldn't help but cry out.

"I'm not going anywhere until I explain—"

"Ms. Stackhouse asked you nicely to leave her alone, Compton," a voice interrupted their scene, its owner stepping into the one exterior light Merlotte's had in the back. "I'd do as she says."

Eric had been locked in his office, flipping through the backlog of messages on his desk, when he'd felt it. The bond had hit him hard enough that, were he human, it would have taken his breath away. Her distress, her fear, her pain had pierced him like a stake, and he'd had no doubt that she'd finally remembered.

This time, he was out the door of Fangtasia and in the air the instant he felt her need, dumping comfort and encouragement into the bond the entire time it took for him to get to Bon Temps.

He'd landed just in time to see Bill put his hands on her and to hear her yelp. The moment the sound reached his ears, a dark fury rose within him, begging to be released. No one hurt his bonded and lived.

Rain was streaming down his face and bare arms in cold little rivers as he approached, his stride casual.

"Eric!" Sookie cried, relief sweeping through her. In all the chaos of her memories returning, she hadn't realized that their bond had reemerged as well. He must have been the one channeling strength into her when he felt her start to fall apart. Without him, she would have been lying in the fetal position sobbing right now.

Immediately, Bill released Sookie's arm, which she cradled against her body, and looked between the two of them, sensing their connection. "Don't make the mistake of thinking he is your ally, Sookie. He will betray you the moment it's convenient for him to do so." Even to him, the desperation rang clear in his voice.

"At least he comes through when it counts," she said. "Which is more than I could ever say about you."

Eric wanted to grin at her words but restrained himself. Instead, he stopped his approach and watched their exchange, biding his time until he would finally kill Compton.

Bill nodded. "I know I have not been good to you, but that was beyond my control. Lorena is gone now. We can finally be together . . . free."

For a moment, the only sound was the heavy drumming of rain striking wet earth until Sookie realized he was serious.

"_Are you insane_? We are _never_ going to be together again. You've hurt me deeper than anyone. I can't even stand to look at you!"

His mouth fell open in devastation. Despite this new obstacle of being bonded with Eric, he hadn't expected her to reject him so undeniably. He'd expected anger and betrayal and pain, those he could deal with, but not dismissal. That was not something he was prepared to handle "You don't mean that . . ."

"_Yes_, Bill! I mean it more than I've ever meant anything in my whole life."

Eric didn't fight the grin this time. He was too delighted to be witnessing Sookie's renouncement of Bill. It was something he'd imagined on several occasions, but none of his fantasies compared with the reality. Bill looked like he was on the verge of tears. How delightful.

But then the forlorn expression morphed into angry desperation as he advanced on her again, gripping her shoulders with fists that resembled claws. "I _will _not lose you."

Sookie winced and Eric sprang into action, effectively removing her from Bill's grasp and coming to stand between them. "She is already lost to you."

Making sure to block Bill from her view, he turned to Sookie and asked if she was all right. Her emotions were erratic and confused; her resolve was weakening. This confrontation was taking much more out of her than he'd first realized.

When he turned around, he was surprised that Bill hadn't taken the opportunity to run off and save his own life, which now was about to end, "I told you what would happen if you came back here."

"I know," Bill's teeth were clenched.

"You accept it?"

"Yes."

Oh, he was going to enjoy this. Bill had always been a nuisance with his pathetic attempts to mainstream and his claims of retained humanity. He'd been looking for an excuse to end him since he'd returned to the area. The fact that he got to do so in defense of his bonded's honor was just a bonus.

"Go home, Sookie. You don't need to see this," he said, approaching the lesser vampire with an eager light in his eyes. Bill had pulled himself upright and forced his shoulders back, becoming more of the man Sookie remembered in the process. She suddenly had all too good of an idea of what was about to happen.

"What are you going to do?"

"Bill violated his exile," Eric said. "He must be punished."

He barely glanced at her as he continued to stalk Bill, savoring every step, when she moved in front of him.

"Whatever you're planning on doing to him, Eric, please . . . don't."

Now his teeth were clenched. "He hurt you."

"You're right, he did," she agreed. "But I'm asking you to just walk away. Please, for me."

What attachment could she possibly have had with Compton that she would still fight for him after everything he'd done? He pried into the bond, searching for a clue as to why she would want to protect him but found nothing. All affection she'd once had for him was gone; it was simply her soft heart that couldn't bear to see something killed speaking out.

He looked from her to Bill, who was standing in the background, awaiting his fate. Eric growled, still longing to rip out his spine with his teeth, but Sookie touched his arm and brought his attention back to her. "Please, just take me home."

Of course, Bill had remained silent throughout their exchange and allowed Sookie to fight his battle.

"I don't know if I can do that." She was asking for great deal—more unwarranted mercy that he wasn't willing to give. Especially to Bill. But when he looked down at her, he was compelled to concede, if only because it would make her opinion of him grow.

In the end, neither his need for revenge nor his desire to satisfy Sookie drove his decision. She had been in the rain too long and was starting to shiver. If she were out much longer, she would get sick.

"Come," he said, guiding her toward the parking lot with one large hand pressed against her back. She leaned into his body and allowed him to lead her away from the awful scene while Bill stood frozen behind them. For all Eric cared, he could stay there until sunrise.

It wasn't until they were standing in the parking lot that Sookie remembered she'd gotten a ride to work. "I don't have a car," she said. "Lafayette drove me in today."

"Would you rather have him take you home?"

The rain continued to dump on them, ensuring that they were both thoroughly drenched while muddy puddles grew in the parking lot, which was probably going to resemble a small pond before morning. God help any cars still parked there by then.

"No, I want to stay with you."

Eric stepped toward her, pleased by her statement. "We will be there shortly, but you have to hold onto me and don't open your eyes until I say so."

Sookie nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist while his own fell around her. The embrace was familiar, comfortable even, and the painful memories were pushed a little further away. For the first time, she stopped fighting the feelings he stirred in her and allowed them to overwhelm everything else.

"Close your eyes," he whispered, then lifted her off the ground, wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed her torso to his.

She flinched once when he took off but then remained still the rest of the flight, the wind whipping around them as they sped in the direction of her house. They were flying so fast that the raindrops struck like small stones, but Eric had angled their bodies so that he would shield her from most of them.

They were in the air less than five minutes when Eric's feet touched down on Sookie's porch.

"You can open your eyes now."

Sookie's heart was beating wildly and her face was flushed. "I had no idea you could fly! I thought we were just going to do that vampire speedy thing."

"Perhaps someday we will do it again." His tone was casual but he liked that she enjoyed the experience.

She nodded. "I'd like that."

As they stood there on her porch, she started to feel like a couple finishing up an awkward first date, except she didn't want to finish anything. She wanted him to stay. Like it or not, she felt better with Eric around.

Now that her memories had returned and she had an accurate picture of everything that had happened, she realized how foolishly she'd behaved and how right he'd been about everything. Frankly, she was surprised that he'd showed up at all that night.

Without saying anything, she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her body against his. "Thank you."

His arms moved to encircle her, but he didn't say anything.

"Can you come inside for a little bit? I don't think I can handle being alone right now."

He nodded and held the door open while she limped inside, doing her best to shake the excess water from her limbs. Until she'd stepped inside her warm, dry living room, she hadn't realized just how cold and wet she was. Her shivering seemed to double as the moisture dripped off her body and pooled at her feet, soaking the hardwood floors, and it continued to persist after she'd wrapped a heavy, old blanket around herself.

Eric watched her attempts to warm herself, frowning. This would not do. "Come upstairs," he instructed. "You need to warm up before you become ill."

She obeyed silently, taking the stairs one at a time while Eric followed behind. All the makeup she'd piled on over her injuries had washed off and he had a clear view of the many remaining marks covering the backs of her arms and legs. He bit back a growl. Compton had gotten off too easy.

When they reached the upstairs hallway, he took her hand and lead her into the bathroom where he ran the water in the old claw-foot tub then placed his hand beneath the faucet. Once he was satisfied with the temperature, he plugged the stopper into the drain and turned to Sookie who was standing behind him, arms crossed around her middle.

"Arms up." She looked at him for a second then painfully raised her arms as high as she could. The left arm was still stiff, and she could only lift it so far.

He pretended not to notice and lifted the sopping over her head, careful not to jostle her too much. When he revealed up to her shoulders, his attention was drawn to the intricate pattern of healing scars covering her midsection, and another pang of guilt struck him in the chest. There wasn't one inch of unmarred flesh anywhere on her, and it was his fault. Someone had to pay for this.

Once her shirt was removed, he helped her to step out of her shorts then scooped her up and placed her in the half-full tub, not bothering to remove the mismatching bra and panties. That would have been inappropriate.

As soon as she settled into the tub, the warm water swelled around her, soothing the chills instantly. Grabbing a washcloth, Eric knelt by the tub and soaked it beneath the faucet before pressing it against her forehead and watching the little streams dribble down her body before joining the rest of the water, which had risen to just below her pink bra.

Sookie leaned back and closed her eyes, finally allowing herself to relax. Though she'd gained some awful memories, they couldn't detract from the fact that she was finally herself again. That alone gave her enough peace to ward off the darkness she'd endured.

While her eyes were shut, Eric took inventory of Bill's handiwork. Jagged pink lines struck from every angle covered most of her abdomen. Pieces of flesh were missing from her legs and arms, and the little flesh that hadn't bled was discolored by ugly, green and purple bruises. Her body was a blueprint of torture.

Already, Eric regretted leaving Bill alive, but that was not something he intended to live with for long. He would have his revenge.

Sookie felt the change in his emotions and turned to look at him. His eyes were dark and his brow furrowed as he stared off into emptiness at a fantasy only he could see.

After a moment, he said, "I should have come sooner."

She didn't respond right away. Instead she took hold of his hand and brought it to her face, holding it there. "I should have trusted you sooner. We both screwed up."

His thumb stroked her cheekbone and she leaned forward in the water, bringing her face to his, and kissed him. This time, the bond flared between them, enveloping them, caressing them, bombarding them with the renewal of a lost connection. The kiss lasted no more than a few seconds and was rather chaste in nature, but when they broke apart, Sookie was panting and Eric hungered for more.

"I've missed you," she said.

Eric kissed her again, and the bond reacted just as it had before. Arms crossed on the edge of the tub, and his forehead pressed against hers, he said. "Will you let me heal you?"

She hesitated, pulling back. "Won't that turn me?"

"It's been long enough for your blood to replenish. You won't be turned . . . unless, of course, you want to be . . ." his eyebrow lifted of its own accord.

Sookie smiled. "No, I just want everything back to normal."

"Well, then, allow me . . ." he lifted his wrist to his mouth, bit down, and offered it to her. At least he could take her pain and restore her body.

Her lips were almost timid, wrapping around the wound, but once she began to draw the tangy liquid from his arm, all shyness disappeared as she lost herself to the power of his blood. Eric was in ecstasy as he felt himself drain into her.

After a few minutes, the wound sealed and Sookie looked up at him, licking her lips. His blood still coated her mouth, and he reached for the washcloth to wipe it away. Almost immediately, she could feel her strength returning as the blood worked its magic.

She felt something else, too.

Smiling, she leaned forward again and wrapped her fingers around the two wide straps of his wife beater, pulling him closer. And closer. Until he was bent almost entirely over the tub. She looked up at him and kissed him again, this time prodding his lips with her tongue. He could still taste the remnants of his blood on her lips, and it wasn't long before he was in the tub with her, still fully clothed.

Now that she'd given up fighting her attraction, she couldn't get enough of him. She loved the way his hand tangled in her hair as he pressed their lips closer together, the way he fit so perfectly against her as she cradled him between her legs, the way he smelled, the taste of his lips, his hunger for her. Everything about him screamed to her for more, and she really wanted to give it to him.

The bond had been dormant for so long that they were both completely overwhelmed by its return. Each time he touched her, he could feel it tying them tighter together as if ensuring that it would never get lost again. Eric knew he should let Sookie rest, but that would mean removing his hands from her warm skin, which was unacceptable. He'd longed for this reunion and wanted it to go one for years still.

This kiss wasn't about expertise or seduction. It was sloppy and wet, full of need. This was an unofficial celebration. Finally all the pieces fit and all games had come to an end. It was the beginning.

They continued to suck face like two overly hormonal seventh graders right up until the bathwater grew tepid and the cold began to seep back into her bones.

Knowing that soon they would be right back where they started, Eric broke away, not without difficulty, and climbed out of the tub, the drenched clothes leaving no part of his anatomy to the imagination. There was a cotton bathrobe hanging on the back of the bathroom door, which he held open for her to slide into after she'd navigated her way out of the old tub.

She laughed as his two arms crashed around her once the belt was secured around her waist, leaving two wet marks across the front of her robe. "I'm all wet again!"

"Yes," Eric agreed, his eyes glinting. "I've marked you. Now, you're mine."

She turned around to face him, pressing against him as more moisture transferred onto her body. "Yes, Eric," she whispered. "I'm yours."

**The plot basically ends here, so the next chapter is reserved for pretty much nothing but porn. I have to give them at least one day of nice weather, right?**

**Also, I may have set it up for a random follow-up in which Eric may or may not go after Bill. Still toying with that idea, and no matter what, it won't be posted for awhile. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Brace yourselves, it's another long one. It doesn't go **_**perfectly **_**with the ending of the last chapter, but I like this arc better, sooo we're just going to roll with it. **

**Also, it's not for the citrus intolerant, either.**

Sookie felt the vibration in Eric's chest all the way between her legs as she drew two lazy fingertips across his torso, tracing every muscle and exploring every concave dip and swell, like they were Lewis and Clark, until her head lifted from its perch on his shoulder to look up at him.

She was in dangerous territory of getting too comfortable.

"You should go." The words were soft and insincere, but at least she'd managed to say them.

His response was firm and quick. "No."

"But that's what we agreed—"

"I don't want to leave just yet."

"Eric . . ." Her eyebrow lifted, and she did her best to leer at him. Somehow it didn't have quite the same effect his skepticism always seemed to have on her.

No strings, just sex. That was what they'd talked about. Gran would absolutely skin her floozy hide alive if she saw how casually her granddaughter was fornicating, but after the hell she'd gone through with Bill, jumping into another relationship—or whatever you'd call monogamy with Eric—was out of the question. And he was just so blissfully numbing. Sex with him was like Novocain for the soul.

Still a small part of her did a little dance when Eric insisted on staying, and as much as she tried, it wouldn't stop.

"Fine," she said and he purred his approval, running one finger up her naked spine.

Her head returned to its spot on his shoulder with his arms wrapped around her while piles of moonlight fell into the bedroom through the open window. Neither of them said anything else for the next few minutes.

Lying there quiet like that, she felt more safe and content than since before Gran died. There were no expectations, no official titles, just peace. For both of them.

She'd seen Eric once or twice a week for the past month or so and was surprised to find how well they could get along now that they'd stopped arguing so much. Some nights, they would do nothing but talk and joke around. He could be pretty witty if he was in the mood. And fun. And intelligent. And charming. And she was so not going to go there again. Bill was all those things in the beginning and look how that turned out. Except for fun. Bill was about as fun as a tornado in a trailer park.

Although she'd agreed to be Eric's the night Bill came back, she'd convinced herself she said it more out of obligation and because she owed him. But mostly because she didn't want to be alone. Which was why their current arrangement was so perfect. She had comfort and companionship and didn't have to worry about getting trampled on. Eric got sex. They both got what they wanted.

Per Sookie's insistence, most of the time they passed like this: naked and spent after experimenting with various positions in every room of the house. Including the linen closet. She had a lot to learn, and Eric was nothing if not a good teacher.

Her attention was brought back to the present moment when his fingers began to mimic her own, her stomach doing those familiar flips and dips as they stroked her tanned skin. Starting at her shoulder, down her arm, then across her middle. Almost instantly, every hair on her body reached up, beckoning for his touch.

She shivered and drew herself closer into him, placing hot kisses on his chest and shoulder as she did so, but that only encouraged his fingers to pet her harder. They slid down her abdomen, around her hip bone, then up to the silken curve of her breast, coming full circle.

A soft sigh slipped past her wall of detachment and her leg found itself wrapped around his knee, her pelvis absently grinding against his thigh.

"I thought you were tired." His fingers slid further down, barely caressing her inner thigh.

"I was." She moved in even farther so that every part of her was touching some part of him. "Now I'm not."

With one graceful stretch of his torso, he'd flipped them over so that he was completely on top of her, nestled between her legs. "And what would you like me to do about that?"

Instead of answering, she lifted her head off the pillow and pulled him into a deep kiss, telling him what she wanted with the frantic needing of her lips. Usually, she tried to keep kissing to an absolute minimum—too intimate—but his face was just so close to hers and she didn't want to fight the urge. For his part, he was kissing her with equal fervor.

Slowly, need crept into their bodies like poison ivy, and a carnal hunger began to consume them both from the inside out.

Almost immediately, his fangs were extended and his erection was pressed into her abdomen. She could feel it pulsing, calling for release. Or maybe that was the bond. It was so hard to tell anymore.

It didn't take long for her hand to slip between them, searching out his length, but Eric moved just out of reach, causing her to squeak in frustration.

He broke the kiss but didn't pull his face away, so his lips brushed hers when he growled. "Not yet."

She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout and pulled her brows together, but it had no effect. Eric could be as stubborn as she was. Seeing how he wanted to play this, she decided to beat him at his own game. There were plenty of other ways to tease him.

When his mouth came down for round two, her lips bypassed his and enveloped one of his fangs, sucking it gently.

Eric growled and his hands grabbed her possessively while his length descended back to her body, right between her legs. She rotated her hips just enough.

Now he was kissing her with abandon, his tongue snaking into her mouth, possessing it while her own tongue pressed against the sharp tip of his fang hard enough to draw blood.

His entire body froze when that first drop hit his tongue. She felt his desire to sink his fangs into her until he was sated. Normal people would have been concerned, but Sookie was thrilled that she got to him like that. It was taking every last morsel of his self-control not to plunge into her and ride her until neither of them could move, but he would hold off. She knew exactly how far to push him.

Unfortunately, he knew exactly how to torture her.

"You're going to regret that," he threatened, his hands ceasing their wandering and gripping her hips.

She smiled up at him, running her hands up and down his back. "Make me."

He growled and adjusted his body so that he was crouched over her, once again just out of reach, and returned to stroking her—his pet—careful to avoid all the places where she wanted to be touched most. His hands were massive and put pressure on all the right spots and brought out a red flush that blossomed in her face and lips before spreading down the rest of her skin. Almost instantly, he breathing grew shallow, desperate.

Every time his hands moved up her body, they came closer to cupping her breasts, and every time he pulled them back down, they were close enough to dip into the pooling wetness, but nothing else, while she squirmed and moaned in frustration.

Pins and needles raced through her veins as he expertly stimulated every nerve ending, all the way from her pinky toe to the ends of her hair. All except those key spots that would make her scream. God, she wanted him. No one could do the things to her that Eric Northman could . . . sexually, that is.

"Please," she moaned, contorting her chest in the hopes that he might flick a nipple. No such luck.

"Please what?"

"Please, I want you to touch me," she was panting now.

One long index finger slid up her leg, across her hip, and between her breasts before coming to rest on her lips, holding in the scream that was waiting just behind them. "I am touching you."

"You know what I mean," her entire body had tried to arch into that one finger, but he pressed her back into the mattress with one strategically placed thigh.

"Tell me exactly what you want, Sookie."

She was far beyond arguing and absolutely not above begging at this point. ". . . I want to feel you inside me."

His expression faltered for just a second, as if she'd said the wrong thing, but then he grinned and leaned down to kiss her before whispering, yet again, "Not yet"

Sookie groaned louder and bucked her hips to create at least a little bit of friction, but he wouldn't let her, placing one large hand on her fiery skin, fingers spread just below her naval—so close to where she wanted them to be.

Control was his again, and it was clear he had no plans to give it up.

If she had any will power at all, she would have lied there and acted bored, but acting anything other than . . . horny around Eric these days was proving to be impossible.

"Eric . . ."

Suddenly his weight was pressed on her again and his mouth was working at the crook of her neck, pulling her flushed skin into his cool mouth.

Ten locked fingers streaked down his back, clutching him tighter, and her legs sealed around his waist.

"More . . ."

His tongue swirled the delicious beads of sweat forming on her chest into his mouth then kissed her. The bitter taste of salt burned her tongue.

A little louder, "More . . ."

One hand settled beneath her breast, pushing it up. Its puckered peak was less than an inch from his mouth.

She fisted his hair and tried to push him down on her, but he just laughed. "Patience, Sookie."

Frustration was morphing into anger the longer Eric smirked at her. Teasing was one thing, what he was doing was worse than torture. One more time she tried for the contact she was so hungry for, rubbing her body against his, and once again, he deferred, pinning her to the bed.

"What do I have to say to make you fuck me?"

"Is that all you want, Sookie?" his body stilled above her. "For me to . . . fuck you?"

"Eric," she used her legs to pull her lower body into his, desperately avoiding the fact that he had hit the very nerve she'd been trying to numb. "Please, I need this. I need you right now. . ."

"Tell me," he adjusted his position, and for a moment, she was terrified he was going to roll off her. He was smirking, but the bond held not even the slightest trace of humor. "Is sex all you want from me? Use me and throw me away, is that the game?"

"Why are you asking this now?" she was just short of whining.

"Because I'd like to know."

"Isn't sex all you want form me?" she countered, hiding behind bitchy sarcasm. "Sex and telepathy?"

But Eric wouldn't bite. "No," and then with no hesitation, "I want to keep you."

"We're already bonded, I said I'm yours, so please, just put this inside me already!" Her words sounded desperate and crazed, and she punctuated each one with a heaving thrust of hips, before reaching down and giving him a squeeze for good measure. Eric closed his eyes as the sensation blasted through him, then brought her hand up next to her face.

"You can talk to me," he was whispering like they were sharing a quiet moment over coffee. "I'm not Bill."

How did Mr. "emotions are stupid" always know exactly what she was feeling all the time? It was infuriating.

"I know you're not," she grew serious below him but made sure not to lose any contact. "But I'm not ready."

Eric nodded. She could practically hear him rolling her words around in his head. "If you say so."

And then it was time to play.

"So does that mean you're not ready for this?" Ever so slowly, the hand still pressed against her lower stomach moved further down. Closer. Her breathing hitched. Almost there. Her broth stopped coming altogether, anticipation knotting in her gut. And then he stroked her, one smooth finger deep inside her molten core. The breath she was holding came out in a giant whoosh.

"Ready or not, Sookie," Eric kissed her and thrust his finger inside once. Twice. "I'm not going to let you get away from me."

Those perfect lips nuzzled her neck and began to move down her body, paying equal attention to both breasts. Finally.

She didn't know how he did it. One hand was massaging her left breast while his mouth was occupied with her right, and his fingers continued to penetrate her. It didn't take long for her to completely detach from all trains of rational thought. All she could do was gasp and produce the occasional squeaky moan. There wasn't any breath for much else.

After a few minutes—or was it hours?—Eric continued his descent, licking and nipping his way down her torso, and her hunger grew tenfold.

When his cool mouth settled over her scorching center, she almost shattered. His fingers continued their excellent work while his tongue attacked that tight bundle of nerves tucked away above her entrance, rolling it gently between his teeth. Her hips lifted off the bed as Eric dragged her closer to the edge of a very high, very intimidating, cliff.

Their eyes met, and he curled his fingers.

Sookie's head flew back on her pillow as every cell split and she fell apart, with everything inside her exploding then crashing back together again. Breathing was impossible, which resulted in her choking on air as her body thrashed on the bed.

She lay there, sprawled and incoherent while Eric took it upon himself to clean her off. With his mouth.

He guided her back down from orgasmic high, taking great care to be gentle and soft. When he heard her contented sigh, he knew he'd done his job.

His mouth remained latched on her, as he slid two glistening fingers up to her lips, wanting her to lick them clean.

Now that some of her sanity had returned, it brought with it a piece of that that damn Stackhouse competitive streak, and she decided it was time to turn the tables. She accepted his fingers willingly, grabbing his wrist with a tingly hand and holding it in place. Her mouth worked like a little dirt devil.

The second she started to suck, his tongue ceases its movements, and she saw one eyebrow crawl up his forehead. Good. She had his attention. Never breaking his gaze, she brought her teeth down on his finger, slowly increasing the pressure.

Two glistening fangs winked at her from his open, hungry mouth, and her teeth came down harder on him, enough that if it were anyone else's finger, she probably would have bitten it off. Eric only looked like he wanted more. Nothing got him off more than when she took his blood.

Sookie smiled and stopped holding back, biting hard enough to break the skin. His blood oozed into her mouth, tangy and rich. For whatever reason, the taste always reminded her of cinnamon.

He groaned between her legs, and just like that, the ball was in her court again.

After tearing him open, it wasn't hard to pull him up the bed or to roll him over on his back, putting him right where she wanted him. So long as she kept suckling his finger.

With his hand still at her lips, she swung her leg over his hip and straddled him, grinding slowly. His erection bumped against her thigh, swollen and pink. Lightly grazing her fingers down the shaft, he hissed as she lowered her head.

As much as she loved being on the receiving end of his attentions, being the one to give the pleasure was much more satisfying. It made her feel powerful, in control. And after everything Eric had done to toy with her just now, some control was just what she needed.

Starting at the base, she traced his erection with her tongue before engulfing the tip. Eric watched her like a lion waiting for its killshot. He loved being in control as much as she did, and it took a lot for him to give himself over for any period of time. This was one show, however, that was far too wonderful to interrupt.

Tight fists clutched the sheets to keep himself from throwing her onto her back so he could finish himself off inside her. She saw this and smiled up at him from around his cock, almost making him lose it right there.

Only half of him could fit in her mouth, but she worked on taking more while gently stroking what didn't fit and cupping the heavy sac beneath the shaft. It was the kind of torture you never wanted to end.

Finally, she'd decided enough was enough and lifted off him, wiping the corners of her mouth with a careful finger. Eric waited, biding his time, and the instant she released him from her spell, he was on top of her again, pinning her arms next to her head and spreading her legs with his thigh so he could fit between them. Time was up.

A pink glow radiated from every inch of her skin as she looked up, waiting for him to thrust down on her.

"Do it." She pulled weakly against the hold on her wrists, but he wouldn't move.

Then, bracing himself on the mattress, he pushed forward, sliding into place with a loud groan. Sookie shouted her agreement and raised her hips to meet his. Once connected, both were too afraid to move for fear that it would end too soon.

After a moment, he regained some control and began to move in earnest, occasionally rotating his hips just to see her eyes stretch wide and to feel her clench around him. It was bliss.

"Keep going," she huffed. The friction spread out through her body, her arms, her chest, her toes. She felt him everywhere.

The pace of his thrusts doubled, and it wasn't long before she was rushing headlong toward orgasm number two. Already, she was writing and flailing beneath him. He leaned forward so that every inch of her body was wrapped in his and steadied her with another searing kiss to bring her back.

Together, they continued their frantic pace. Her hips pushing up while his came down. Their eyes were stuck together and air rushed between them, originating from her heated gasps of pleasure.

"I'm so close . . ."

"Stay with me," Eric whispered, determined that they finish together. His thrusts became even faster and more frantic when he saw her eyes glaze over.

At last, they both crashed headfirst into a wall of pleasure. They were flying, free falling from miles up, and Eric pulled her close to him, shielding her body from the impact with his own. When they crashed, they hit with a force that knocked all the air from the room as a streak of white light lit the room, blinding them and piercing them directly through the bond. Together, their bodies trembled with aftershocks.

Unable to support himself any longer, he collapsed on top of her and didn't move for several minutes until his motor function returned.

"What was that?" Sookie gasped as soon as she remembered how to speak. Breathing was still difficult and not because she was buried beneath a big pile of Eric.

Smoothing some matted hair off her face, he said, "You can thank our bond for that little . . . happy ending." His fingers lingered, tracing her features. "It lets us share our climax."

Yet another tremor sped through her blood and she pulled him down into the hundredth kiss that night. His weight pressed against her like a friendly blanket.

"Well, then, I guess I'm starting to like this bond."

"Is that so?" he asked, rolling them over so that she was straddling his waist, two massive hands holding her in place. "I've always been fond of our connection." He growled the last word and ground his hips into hers to make his point.

Long blond strands danced down her back as she threw her head back and moaned. At this rate, it wasn't going to take long before either of them was ready for round three.

Sighing, Sookie rolled off him and immediately was pulled into his side. She positioned herself so that half of her body was on top of his and her chin rested on his chest. Cerulean met sapphire as they their eyes zeroed in on each other, and for once, there were no walls or games, or distance between them.

"What am I to you?" She asked the question as soon as it popped into her head, immediately prompting her to want to roll her eyes and slap her mouth shut. What a stupid question, brought on by an admittedly intense moment.

Eric smiled. "You mean besides being my lover?" Tingles covered her skin when he stroked his hand up and down her side.

"Yes," she pressed her ear against his silent heart, unable to look him in the eye as he answered.

He sighed then, hesitating for just a moment. "You are my escape." His fingers left her side, choosing to tangle themselves in her yellow strands. "You are where I go when I want to step away from everything else."

Were it not for the delicate strain in the bond, she would have believed him, but that was not something she was going to push. His answer was perfect, exactly what it should have been.

Cool flesh soothed her own flushed skin as she snuggled tighter and laughed softly, trying to lighten the mood. "You seem to need a lot of escapes these days."

Pressing a kiss to her forehead and leaving his lips there, he said, "That I do."

Silence filled the next few minutes while they took comfort in each other's calm.

Eventually, Sookie's attention was drawn to the window, which was open and allowing the gentle breeze to spill over into the room. Beneath the violet moonlight were twinkling blue stars decorating the sky.

Smells of fresh blossoms filled the air with enough of their pungent, sweet scent for it to waft inside her home—a permanent air freshener. Whenever she breathed in, it smelled of life and hope and lavender. This was one of those nights that reminded her of why she lived where she did, why she'd never leave. Right now, lying in bed with Eric, everything was perfect.

"It's a gorgeous night."

"Mm," Eric replied, clearly not as impressed with the weather. He was more concerned with making sure his hands were properly reacquainted with every inch of her skin.

"You know, when Jason and me were little, on nights like this, we used to sneak outside after Gran went to sleep and play hide and seek in the woods."

She sat up and Eric rolled onto his side, propping his head up with one arm to look at her.

"It sounds kind of stupid, but I'd go out there and pretend that I was a princess and Jason was some kind of stupid ogre or something trying to get me, and I had to make it back home safe. I loved that game."

The memory didn't interest Eric much, but the emotions radiating through her were intoxicating and he wanted to make sure they continued. They were a bittersweet mix of longing and pleasure and a great deal of joy. "What is 'hide and seek'?"

Her smile stretched so wide it almost fell off her face as he explained the concept, her excitement building like a storm.

"So you would hide, alone, in the woods and wait to be caught?" he asked when she was finished, not quite getting the point.

She nodded, her enthusiasm engulfing her in a subtle glow. "Do you want to try it?"

Eric rolled over then, pulling her beneath him and devouring her chest and breasts in kisses and tongue. "I was enjoying myself right here."

Tangling her fingers in his hair, she asked, "What if I promise to make it worth your while?"

One flawless eyebrow lifted as the delicious smirk fixed itself over his mouth. If she could, she would eat that mouth.

"And what would that entail?

" . . . whatever you'd like it to," was her suggestive reply.

"Let's go," he leapt off the bed, apparently on board with the new game now that stakes were involved.

"Hold on," she called before he dragged them outside stark naked. "You need to put some pants on." She'd already thrown a satiny white nightgown over her head. The material was thin and light, coming down to a little above her knees and gripping her body in exactly the right spots. It suited her.

Not wanting to waste time arguing, Eric threw on the black jeans he'd worn earlier then proceeded to whisk Sookie down the stairs and onto the porch.

"Wait here while I scan the area."

One minute he was whispering in her ear, arms tight around her waist, and the next he seemed to have evaporated. She had stopped arguing with his new obsession with security a few weeks ago. After all, she'd learned the hard way that he knew better in all matters supernatural. Occasionally she'd pick up a tight pull of guilt coming from him, and she hated the fact that he blamed himself for what happened. But what could she say to him to make it go away? If a quick run around her property was all it took to keep that guilt at bay, then she'd gladly give it to him.

Less than two minutes after he disappeared, he was pulling her into his arms again. "It's safe."

"Oh, good, I was really worried," she nudged him playfully, but he didn't smile. Touchy subject.

"Okay, so because you're stronger, faster, and older, you should count to five hundred before you come after me."

"I will not stand here alone and count like a human child."

She opened her mouth to argue, but he silenced her by placing his fingertips against her lips. "But I will wait for seven minutes if you insist on concealing yourself."

She looked like she wanted to argue, then decided against it. "Deal. But you have to promise not to use any of your vampire powers to look for me, either. No speed, no flying, and no sniffing."

"You are being awfully demanding."

"These are my terms," she crossed her arms in front of her in an effort to not so subtly bump up her ample bust and did her best to wiggle her eyebrows. "You can take them or leave them . . . but I think they're more than fair."

Debate over. Not taking his eyes off her chest, he said, "Your time has started Sookie. You better run unless you want me to take my prize right now."

That was all she needed to hear. Before he could say tick tock, she was in the woods, bare feet striking soft dirt and leaves. The rains hand finished a few weeks ago, but the ground was still mist and cool, rendering footwear optional. Though she still wished she'd at least remembered a pair of flip flops. Now her feet were going to be dirty and probably coated in dead bugs. All things considered, a small price to pay, but still . . . ick.

Unsure of how much time she had left, she diverged from the path and moved deeper into the woods. The moon was almost full and giving off more than enough light for her to see by. Not that she could get lost. These were her woods, the ones she grew up in. She could get lost easier on the freeway than she could here.

All around her, crickets were chirping, filling the silence with their serenade while fireflies lit and danced in the air above her head. It really was on of those special, perfect nights that come around about once a year with Louisiana's freaky weather patterns. The air moved around her light as silk, and she rather enjoyed being so exposed outside, with absolutely nothing but a thin piece of material between her and nature. It was liberating, exciting, and more than a little erotic. She hoped that Eric wouldn't take long to find her; a trickle of lust was already starting to make its presence known.

A twig snapped nearby, reminding her of what she was supposed to be doing, so she continued picking her way through her woods, looking for a suitable place to hide. The trees protected her, the moss hid her, and the dirt silenced her. This was her element.

It wasn't long before she found what she was looking for—a large tree, hollowed out at the base, creating a shallow, wooden cave of sorts. She could fit inside easily if she crouched and kept her head down and would definitely be hard to spot for anyone taller than four feet. The wood fit around her like a cocoon as she drew her knees into her body, careful not to get her nightgown muddy. All she had left to do was wait.

She closed her eyes and pressed back until she felt the rough bark against her skin. Piles of roots and come vines acted as camouflage to the entrance of her hidey hole, and she was rather proud to have found it so quickly. Maybe it would pose some sort of challenge for Eric. Not too much, though. She was missing him already.

"Stop it, Sookie," she whispered. "Don't go there."

About fifteen minutes after she left Eric on her porch, the sounds of the bugs in the area tapered and the bond fluttered, indicating that Eric was close. Adrenaline hit like a high, and she tried not to count the seconds until he pulled her out of the tree.

Shuffling rattled the leaves somewhere nearby, and Sookie held her breath, willing her heartbeat to slow. As much as she wanted him to find her, she wanted this to be a challenge, wanted him to enjoy the hunt.

A few seconds later, her ears picked up on deliberate footsteps that grew louder the closer they came to her hiding place. This was it. Just in time, too. A knot was forming in her lower back from being crouched for so long, and it was only growing tighter.

Any minute now, Eric's face would peer in at her through the vines, and he'd probably be wearing that stupid smirk. The anticipation sat in her chest with all the gentleness of an up-chuck reflex.

But he never came. Instead the footsteps seemed to be moving away.

When they almost disappeared completely, she wanted to run after him. What was he playing at? He _had_ to have known where she was. He was a vampire; he'd probably known where she was the second she decided where she was going to hide. Grumbling, she shuffled her feet and tried to stretch only to feel a spasm shake her back muscles.

Full minutes went by and she had yet to hear anything else. She didn't like this. Where was he? What if Bill came back and decided to try something? What if he found some way to hurt Eric—caught him by surprise? The bond gave no indication of any trouble, but that didn't mean there wasn't any, did it? There had to be some reason why he wasn't dragging her out of the tree and having is way with her. She saw how excited he got when she promised him outdoor sex.

Two more minutes and she'd go look for him. At that point, her back was screaming that two minutes was one hundred and twenty seconds too long, but she didn't want to give up so easily just in case this was a trick.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. The bond had been quiet, leaving her no clues as to what kind of state Eric was in. Was he mad at her? Annoyed that she was making him traipse through the woods? It had been more than a half our since they started the game, and her back had had enough.

She groaned as the muscles squirmed and twitched when she crawled on her hands and knees through the dirt and roots back into the open woods. As she stood, she felt naked and exposed, the trees losing some of their comforting protection.

"Eric?" she called, taking a few tentative steps in the direction of her house. As she walked, she kept hoping that he would show up, that he would swoop in and put his arms around her, but her only company was the steady rhythm of the crickets and locusts. Warning bells began going off in her head. Could he have left? Was he finally fed up enough to leave her and go back to Shreveport? She hadn't expected him to stick around forever. After all, there was only so much she could offer him and apparently there was only so much he was willing to put up with. He must have left. Where else would he be?

Resigned that she would be going to bed alone, her walk became a trudge as she moved in the direction of home. Progress was slow and all adrenaline had drained from her system. Eric had left her, taking more than his fair share of her heart with him. It hurt. It hurt much more than it had a right to. More than the sex, she was going to miss _him_. She should have known better than to get involved in such an arrangement. Of course she wouldn't have been able to stay detached.

A few more steps, and she could make out the security lights on her front porch through the tangled webs of branches and moss, but there was still no sign of Eric. She stopped moving as tears mixed the light from her house with the darkness of the forest. He really was gone.

Just as she was about to suck it up and go back inside, she heard a whoosh of air then two bars of iron strapped across her chest. Before she could scream, squirm, or fight, a pair of familiar lips tickled the side of her neck.

"You can stop worrying now, lover, I do believe I caught you."

Relief surged through her, and she lost herself to it for a few seconds before turning on him. "What the hell, Eric? Why'd you do that to me?"

His arms were clasped against her lower back, massaging it lightly as if he'd known she strained it. His expression was one of confusion. "Do what to you?"

"You left me out there," it was difficult to keep from sounding hysterical. "I was waiting for you but you never showed up."

"I thought you wanted me to hunt you."

"You're supposed to find me and catch me, not hunt." She was definitely not doing a good job at keeping the hysteria out of her voice.

He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. That eyebrow said it all.

She slapped his chest. "I thought you finally had enough and went back to Shreveport and were going to leave me hiding in that stupid tree 'til morning."

Eric laughed, deep and rich, and pulled her against him. "I could never get enough of you, Sookie. I was only trying to play the game. The most successful hunts are the ones where you lure your prey into the open."

"You're not supposed to hunt, you're supposed to seek." Wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing, she whispered, "and you really scared me."

His hands moved to her hips and he backed her into the closest tree—an oak that was covered in a soft blanket of moss with thick, wide tentacles splitting from the trunk in every direction. "Why?

She gulped, her hands finding themselves wrapped around his exposed biceps. The moonlight reflected off his bare chest, almost blinding her with the ethereal glow emanating from his skin.

She was at a loss for words. What was she supposed to tell him? The truth? That she was worried he'd abandoned her? That she'd discovered how much he really meant to her. She'd rather chew on tinfoil than expose any of those thoughts to him. That would be it. He would have taken everything she could have offered him, and then there would have been no reason left for him to stay.

"What's troubling you?" With every touch, different, warmer feelings slipped in and replaced her nerves. She gladly let them wash over her.

"Nothing," she said, reaching down to lift the light material over her head. "Now, since you played my little game, I think I owe you a . . . a romp in the woods." Her smile was pure sex as she lifted the nightgown higher. Eric watched, hunger spelled out all over his face, but he stopped her before anything above the tips of her rib cage were exposed.

"While I would love to ravage every inch of you right here, that is not the prize I choose."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, annoyed. "I told you that I'd sleep with you if—"

"No, you said that you'd make it worth my while, and that I'd get whatever I wanted. Never did you say that you would sleep with me if I found you. Though, I wouldn't say no to that, either."

Sookie bit her lip, terrified to ask. "And what do you want?"

"Tell me the truth," his voice was raw and yearning, like he'd been starving for days. "What am I to you?"

Well, what the crap? If she didn't want to curl up into a ball and go away when she asked that question earlier, then she sure as shit did now.

"I already told you I'm not ready."

"How many times must I remind you that I can feel your emotions. I felt everything you did while you were walking through the woods and I know that you're just being stubborn." He lifted her chin with one finger. "Are you afraid that I'll reject you?"

Sookie shook her head and tried to back away, but all she did was hit her head on a low-hanging branch.

"I'm not afraid of _you_," she whispered. "I just can't."

"And I can't pretend that I don't feel . . . affection for you anymore while you continue to pretend it means nothing," he moved even closer to her, so close that her neck was straining to look up at him. "I find myself . . . needing to hear you say that you feel the same."

Surprisingly, the tears remained sheathed while she looked up at him, confused. Never in a billion years would she have thought those words would come out of his mouth and that they'd be directed at her, of all people. They were what she'd been secretly praying she'd hear for weeks. So why was it still so difficult for her to admit that she felt the same?

Because that would mean risking it all again and hoping for the best.

Eric continued, "I'm not going to play your games any more. If you insist on denying your feelings, then this will be our last meeting. He took a step away from her to emphasize his point.

Subconsciously, her feet stepped toward him. "I don't want you to leave."

"That's not good enough."

She wrapped her arms around him again and pressed her cheek to the front of his chest while his arms hung still at his side. "You know that I care about you. . . "

"Tell me, Sookie."

Closing her eyes and bracing for the worst, she inhaled as much oxygen as her lungs could hold and let it all out in one, shaky sigh.

"You have been the only reliable thing in my life, and I trust you, and it terrifies me. Almost as much as the thought of you not being there one night. I don't know what it is I feel for you, but it's deep and strong, and I like being with you a whole lot." She paused. "Is that good enough?" She started down at her dirty feet as she spoke, too afraid to look in his eyes and ready to bolt inside at the first sign of rejection.

But Eric only laughed again and engulfed her in his arms. "That will do for now."

He gently cupped the sides of her face and bent down to meet her eyes. "I have no plans on going anywhere. You're mine until we decide otherwise."

"That better mean that you're mine, too, because—"

He cut her off with a hard kiss, one that she slammed with all her hunger and need. It didn't matter that she'd already had him twice that night. She needed to feel him again. This was not going to be a slow, playful session like the one in her bedroom. No, this was about consummating the pact that was just made beneath the canopy of Spanish moss and stars.

She didn't realize they were moving until she felt the rough, cool bark on her back. Propping one foot up on a low branch, she angled her body to be as close to his as possible.

When Sookie's hands dove beneath the waistband of his jeans, his lower half crashed into hers. After that, it wasn't long before he'd divested his pants, leaving her with unrestricted access. She grasped the base of his length, stroking, her fingers barely making it more than halfway around.

While her hands were busy below the waist, Eric focused on her breasts, pulling the straps of her nightgown down because they both were too impatient to break apart for the length of time it would take to pull it over her head. He pinched, nibbled, and sucked while she squirmed and forced her hands to keep moving at a steady pace.

They were too absorbed in drowning in each other to take their time. She needed reassurance, and he needed her.

The second the silky material slid from her waist, down her legs, and into the loose dirt at their feet, they couldn't wait anymore. Sookie released her grip as Eric came forward and lifted her against the tree, parting her legs with his body.

Without the barrier of her nightgown between her and the ragged surface, the tree cut into her skin.

"Eric, my back—"

He didn't miss a beat as he swung them around, positioning himself against the tree instead. Her legs were wrapped around his waist, and her arms were around his neck. Overheard two branches spread out on either side of them like parallel bars.

"Hold on to the tree," Eric instructed. His body was taught and coiled around her.

Since he was supporting most of her weight, she only needed to keep herself upright, which didn't seem too difficult at first. They hovered there, her propped against him, his eyes the only thing buried in her.

Before he pressed forward, he leaned in and kissed her. "This is right."

Then, in one fluid motion, they were connected. Sookie gasped and rolled her head back, catching sight of the stars, which seemed to be sparkling more violently than she'd ever seen them.

Eric's eyes were only on Sookie, memorizing her perfect form doused in moonlight. Out here, she looked more than human; here, she was a wood sprite, a fairy, an angel. And she was his.

They rocked together, slow and drawn out, savoring each subtle movement of the other's bodies.

"Don't leave me, Eric," she panted her eyes retuning to his, which were glowing brighter than anything else she'd seen that night.

"I will never leave you, lover." And if his words weren't enough, the kiss he presented her was. It was soft and full of all the words they weren't ready to say out loud.

They continued with the same pace with which they began, enjoying the slow build, the anticipation pushing them to further heights.

But soon they both needed more. She wanted to feel him trembling between her legs with every propulsion into her body. She wanted to know that he was just as close to losing control as she was. She wanted to feel him in her veins, and when his thrusts began to match her heartbeat, she swore that that was exactly what she felt.

Her arms were growing weak, too weak to hold herself up any longer. Eric had brought their faces closer together as he continued his drive into her. Her body was quaking around him.

Unable to hold on anymore, she latched onto his neck instead, but he pressed on without missing a stroke. Words and phrases were spilling out of her mouth that made no sense; most of the time, it was an endless repetition of his name.

When he bit her, she automatically clamped down with her own teeth on the top of his shoulder, right next to the collar bone. The taste of Eric filled her, top and bottom, but she craved more. Two more thrusts and she was there; they both were. Again the light ripped through the bond and burst into the sky, blanketing the woods in a momentary flash of daylight.

The force of the orgasm was so strong that Eric's knees gave out, and they tumbled to the ground, dirt sticking to the moisture on their skin. Her chest heaving was the only sound left as they waited to come back into themselves.

In the far east, the sky seemed to be a shade lighter and the stars a little less vibrant. Their night was over.

Despite the approaching dawn, neither of them were willing to separate. If he had to, he could sleep in the ground. Sookie closed her eyes and tried to will the sun to halt its approach for just another few minutes.

When they couldn't ignore the fact any longer, she said, "You have to go . . ."

But still, they clung to a few more minutes together.

"I will be back tomorrow," his lips grazed her temple. "And the night after."

Before he absolutely had to return to Shreveport, she rolled over and poured all the peace and happiness that he'd bestowed on her back into him with one last kiss. "I can't wait."

_Fin_

**Thank you to every single person out there who read/alerted/favorited/reviewed! You guys are rock my socks!**


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